India is at a unique stage of internet development: a stage that can be

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characterised as the ‘vomiting of data’. And for reaching this stage, India has to thank the ongoing social networking revolution.

Social networking has captured the attention of young minds in India. Sites such as Facebook, Orkut and Myspace have suddenly taken the netizen community in India by storm. While the usage and popularity of these sites is constantly on the rise, a new and distinct trend is being noticed. Youngsters logging in on social networking sites are today in a stage of vomiting. They are vomiting each and everything on the internet. From their personal lives to professional existence, relationships and social interaction, everything is being reproduced faithfully on the internet. While the phenomenon of social networking has unleashed the latent creativity of Indian minds, it has once again brought forward the huge legal challenges ahead and the possible consequences of mindless vomiting of data.

People have implicit faith that data about themselves and their lives is their own property, and that no one else can use it without their permission or knowledge. However, the sea of paradigm shifts on the internet is constantly churning.

It needs to be noted that under the Indian cyber law, namely, the Information Technology Act 2000, and thanks to the new amendments to the IT Act 2000, as amended by the Information Technology (Amendment) Act of 2008, data and information in India, including all kinds of personal data, has been subjected to mandatory requirements of retention as also interception and monitoring.

A direct consequence of the new law is that not only the personal data of netizens can be intercepted or monitored by governments, but that the same can in future be potentially misused by the service providers. Thus, people need to be extremely careful about what they post on the internet. Anything posted accidentally or inadvertently is likely to remain on the internet for a long period of time.

Given the fact that India does not have a dedicated legislation on privacy and data protection, the challenges before social networkers is far more immense. Also, the fact that social networking sites are looking for new business and revenue generating opportunities to monetise huge banks of third party data, netizens need to be all the more careful.

The ability to monetise and misuse third party data becomes more accentuated, given the peculiar nature of Indian cyber law. Though some provisions pertaining to privacy and data protection do find mention under the new amendments to the IT Act, yet it becomes apparent that these provisions do not provide an effective and concrete remedy to the affected netizens.

Till such time as the law does not provide any effective remedies in this regard, users of social networking sites need to exercise caution and due diligence in posting personal information. At a time when the ‘Do Not Call Registry’ in India has failed to take off and at a time when data mining entrepreneurs continue to look at social networking sites for data mining purposes, it is imperative that people must protect themselves.

Social networking sites, while being wonderful platforms to demonstrate creativity, are also fertile grounds for potential misuse. The presence of a number of social networking sites in foreign jurisdiction makes the task of an Indian social networker victim even more complicated.

The Indian cyber law, duly amended, has failed to apply itself to this emerging scenario of social networking. Paying lip service to concepts by legislations has historically proved to be ineffective. “Protect yourself before it is too late” — that has to be the dictum to govern the safety and security of personal, private as well as third party data on the internet.