Published On: July 16, 2026
Authored By: Babita Satyvir Varma
Sinhgad Law College Pune
Artificial Intelligence has fundamentally changed the way we use technology. Virtual assistants, facial recognition systems, and recommendation algorithms have become part of everyday life, and these innovations bring real benefits. They also raise serious concerns about privacy. Artificial Intelligence systems require large volumes of data to function, drawn from platforms, social media, surveillance systems, and online transactions. The scale at which this data is collected, processed, and stored creates significant challenges for the protection of privacy rights. In the digital age, the right to privacy has come to be recognised as a fundamental human right.[1]
Yet the rise of Artificial Intelligence technologies has made this right increasingly difficult to enforce. Artificial Intelligence systems can analyse information, predict behaviour, and influence decision-making in ways that raise pressing concerns about consent, transparency, surveillance, and data security. This article examines the relationship between Artificial Intelligence and privacy, surveys India’s privacy regulatory landscape, discusses the key challenges arising from the use of Artificial Intelligence technologies, and considers whether existing laws are adequate to protect individual rights in the era of Artificial Intelligence.
Artificial Intelligence and Data Collection
Artificial Intelligence refers to computer systems capable of performing tasks that would normally require human intelligence — learning, reasoning, deciding, and recognising patterns. Data is a core component of Artificial Intelligence systems, used extensively for both training and operation, and these systems tend to become more accurate and effective as the volume of data they are trained on increases.[2]
Today’s Artificial Intelligence applications draw on data from sources such as:
Data sources commonly used in AI systems:
Social media platforms
Online shopping websites
Search engines
Mobile applications
Biometric databases
Healthcare records
Financial transactions
With this wealth of information, Artificial Intelligence systems can construct detailed user profiles covering tastes, health conditions, political opinions, religious beliefs, financial status, and behavioural patterns. Individuals are often unaware of the extent to which their information is being collected and analysed. This asymmetry creates a genuine tension between innovation and the individual’s right to privacy.
India does have a framework in place to safeguard privacy, built primarily around constitutional protection and targeted legislation.
Constitutional Protection
Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v Union of India is the landmark case in which the Supreme Court of India laid the constitutional groundwork for privacy protection.[3] The Court recognised privacy as intrinsic to personal liberty and dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution,[4] and set out the criteria that any restriction on privacy must satisfy: legality, necessity, and proportionality. These principles now serve as the framework for assessing the legality of data collection and surveillance carried out through Artificial Intelligence systems.
Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023
The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 is the most significant legislative step India has taken on data protection to date.[5] The Act regulates the processing of personal data in digital form, seeking to reconcile the rights of data subjects with the legitimate interests of processing entities. Its main provisions include: the requirement of consent for data processing; a data principal’s right to access and correct their data; obligations binding on data fiduciaries; mandated data security measures; mechanisms for grievance redressal; and financial penalties for non-compliance. The Act represents a meaningful step towards a more robust privacy framework, though questions remain about the scope of exemptions available to certain entities and the practical mechanics of enforcement.
Information Technology Act, 2000
The Information Technology Act, 2000 and its associated rules provide some protection against unauthorised access to, and misuse of, personal information, including provisions addressing data security and remedies for security failures.[6] However, having been drafted well before the emergence of modern Artificial Intelligence tools, the Act does not fully address the privacy challenges these technologies now present.
Privacy Challenges Arising from Artificial Intelligence
1. Mass Data Collection
The large-scale gathering of personal information is one of the central concerns surrounding Artificial Intelligence. Digital services continuously collect data through cookies, geolocation services, browsing histories, and user interactions. Individuals frequently consent to data collection without fully understanding how that information will subsequently be used to train or operate AI systems.
2. Facial Recognition and Surveillance
Facial recognition is among the most contentious applications of Artificial Intelligence. Governments and private companies are increasingly deploying facial recognition systems for security, law enforcement, and commercial purposes. While these systems can improve efficiency and safety, they also carry the potential to enable pervasive, continuous monitoring of citizens. Excessive surveillance can chill freedom of expression and infringe upon privacy rights, and raises serious ethical questions about tracking individuals without their knowledge or consent.
3. Algorithmic Decision-Making
Artificial Intelligence systems are increasingly used to make or inform decisions in employment, credit, insurance, healthcare, and law enforcement. These decisions often rely on algorithms whose reasoning is difficult to explain to the people affected by them. Where decisions are made without transparency, individuals may be unable to meaningfully contest them. Training data can also embed existing biases, producing outcomes that disproportionately affect certain groups. This raises significant concerns about fairness, accountability, and due process.
4. Deepfakes and Identity Misuse
Advances in generative Artificial Intelligence now allow for the production of highly realistic manipulated audio, video, and images — commonly known as deepfakes. These technologies can be exploited to depict individuals without their consent, constituting a grave invasion of privacy, reputation, and personal safety. Victims may suffer significant distress, reputational harm, and financial loss, and existing laws are frequently ill-equipped to address the speed and scale at which such content can spread online.
5. Challenges in Enforcing the Legal Framework
As organisations increasingly adopt Artificial Intelligence, they are required to retain large volumes of personal data, and large databases are an attractive target for cybercriminals. A single data breach can expose sensitive information, leading to identity theft, financial fraud, and other harms. Effective privacy protection therefore depends not only on legal safeguards but also on robust cybersecurity practices.
Landmark Judicial Decisions
Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v Union of India
This ruling established privacy as a fundamental right under the Indian Constitution.[7] The Court emphasised the importance of informational privacy and the corresponding need for robust data protection safeguards in the digital age.
R. Rajagopal v State of Tamil Nadu
In this case, the Supreme Court recognised an individual’s right to protect their personal information from being published without consent, subject to exceptions for matters of public record and legitimate public interest.[8] The decision played a foundational role in shaping privacy jurisprudence in India, particularly at the intersection of privacy and freedom of the press.
Shreya Singhal v Union of India
This case was principally concerned with freedom of speech, striking down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 as unconstitutionally vague.[9] While not a privacy case in the strict sense, it remains relevant to ongoing discussions on balancing constitutional rights in the digital sphere and continues to inform debates on the regulation and governance of online conduct.
Achieving the Balance: Innovation and Privacy
The potential of Artificial Intelligence to generate economic gains is considerable. Artificial Intelligence applications span healthcare, education, transportation, finance, and public administration, driving innovation across each of these sectors. Predictive analytics, for instance, can contribute to earlier disease detection, more effective resource allocation, and improved public services. It remains essential, however, that technological advancement not come at the expense of basic human rights. The central challenge is striking the right balance between innovation and privacy protection.
Several approaches can help achieve this balance:
1. Privacy by Design: Embedding privacy protections directly into the design of Artificial Intelligence systems from the outset, rather than treating them as an afterthought.
2. Transparency Requirements: Ensuring meaningful transparency around the collection, processing, and use of individuals’ data.
3. Algorithmic Accountability: Requiring developers to ensure that automated decision-making systems are explainable and subject to independent review, in order to prevent and address adverse effects.
4. Data Minimisation: Limiting data collection to what is strictly necessary for a stated purpose.
5. Oversight: Ensuring effective monitoring of compliance and enforcement action against violations by regulatory authorities, alongside efforts to raise public awareness of privacy rights.
Conclusion: Balancing Innovation and Human Dignity
The intersection of Artificial Intelligence and personal privacy marks one of the most defining challenges of the digital age. As AI continues to weave itself into daily life — reshaping everything from healthcare to personal convenience — it simultaneously transforms the nature of our data from simple technical footprints into extensions of our personal identities.
While landmark rulings such as Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v Union of India firmly established privacy as a fundamental right, and modern frameworks like the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 provide a crucial legal shield, technology will continue to move faster than legislation. The real challenge going forward does not lie in choosing between technological progress and individual privacy, but in ensuring that the two can coexist.
Achieving this balance requires moving beyond mere legal compliance. It demands active commitment from developers, policymakers, and citizens alike to embed ethical principles directly into the design of tomorrow’s technology. By embracing principles such as privacy-by-design, strict data minimisation, and algorithmic transparency, innovation need not come at the cost of personal liberty. Ultimately, the right to privacy is more than a legal mandate — it is a cornerstone of human dignity, trust, and autonomy in an increasingly connected world.[10]
References
[1] United Nations, The Right to Privacy in the Digital Age (2013); UNESCO, Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (2021).
[2] Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD Principles on Artificial Intelligence (2019).
[3] Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v Union of India, (2017) 10 SCC 1.
[4] Constitution of India, 1950, Article 21.
[5] Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.
[6] Information Technology Act, 2000, and rules made thereunder.
[7] Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v Union of India, (2017) 10 SCC 1.
[8] R. Rajagopal v State of Tamil Nadu, (1994) 6 SCC 632.
[9] Shreya Singhal v Union of India, (2015) 5 SCC 1.
[10] Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD AI Principles (2019); European Commission, Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI (2019).
