Page 14 - KDU Law Journal Volume 4 Issue 2

KDU Law Journal Volume 04 Issue II
September, 2024
regulations to safeguard individuals’ privacy rights. This decision has
set a significant precedent for protecting privacy in the digital sphere.
Another notable case is the European Court of Justice’s ruling in Data
Protection Commissioner v Facebook Ireland Limited, Maximillian
Schrems (the Schrems II case), invalidating the EU-U.S . Privacy
14
15
Shield agreement due to concerns over U.S. government surveillance
activities. This decision highlighted the need for robust legal
safeguards to protect individuals’ personal data from indiscriminate
access by foreign governments. The judgment underscored the
significance of privacy rights in the context of international data
transfers, particularly in the digital age where data easily flows across
borders .
16
Another important Indian case highlighting privacy’s significance in
the digital age is the Aadhaar judgment. In Justice K.S. Puttaswamy
(Retd.) and Anr. v. Union of India and Ors . (2018), the Supreme Court
17
upheld the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act, while imposing
several key restrictions to protect the privacy rights of individuals.
The court ruled that Aadhaar, India’s biometric identification system,
could not be made mandatory for certain services and that strict
measures must be adopted to protect the security confidentiality of
Aadhaar data .
18
In the digital age, it is essential to recognize the importance of
privacy for several reasons. Firstly, privacy is an integral part of
14 Data Protection Commissioner v Facebook Ireland Limited, Maximillian Schrems
C-311/18.
15 Dillon Swensen, “Data Protection Commissioner v Facebook Ireland Limited and Maximillian
Schrems: Where Do We Go From Here?”, Maryland Journal of International Law, 2022, Volume
36, Issue 1, (accessed 5 January 2024, 3:00 P.M) https://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/
th
mjil/vol36/iss1/6
16 The Definitive Guide to Schrems II, (Data Guidance 22 November 2022) (https://www.
dataguidance.com/resource/definitive-guide-schrems-ii#Schrems%20II%20Case), accessed
on 15 December 2023.
th
17 Justice K S Puttaswamy (Retd) & Anr. Vs Union of India & Ors. (2019) 1 SCC 1
18 Privacy Law Library, National Law University, Delhi, (https://nluwebsite.s3.ap-south-1.
amazonaws.com/uploads/justice-ks-puttaswamy-and-ors-vs-union-of-india-uoi-and-ors-5.
pdf), accessed 15 December 2023.
th
law.faculty@kdu.ac.lk
7