Concepts for privacy approach should be consistent with the need for and benefits of global information flows. Speaking at a session on Indo-US Cooperation in High Technology, at the Indo-US Security Forum, organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and NSCS, Joseph Alhadeff, Chief Privacy Officer, Oracle, said that protection has to be appropriate to the type and use of information.

Commenting on the importance of Data Protection and Privacy, he said that private sector role was important and required a flexible approach across different legal framework. Cooperation in cross border transfer is also key to data protection, he said.

Ms Maneesha Mithal, Assistant Director for International Consumer Protection (FTC), while outlining the legal provisions that exists in the US, said that sector specific legislation with aggressive enforcement was desirable. She also advocated self-regulation by industry, which she said was useful towards protecting privacy. According to Mithal, self-regulation in several cases proved to be the better bet than legislation.

Ms Vijaya Sampath, Corporate Director and General Counsel, Bharti Group, in her presentation, outlined the Indian scenario and the legal framework existing in India. She said that Indian cyber laws were still at a nascent stage, but added that the IT Act of 2000 was a step in the right direction.

She said that the Act was not comprehensive but contained the broad contours of the legal framework, and it was now time to build up on those principles. According to Ms Sampath, the recent incidents involving the CEO of a company clearly indicated the loopholes in the system and that every stake holders must now put their head together to formulate appropriate laws.

She said that Indian IT and BPO industry was on a new growth mode and appropriate regulatory and legal framework was the need of the hour to protect the industry from fraudulent practices.