The Right to Privacy in Social Media Platforms: Legal and Regulatory Challenges in India

In India the hasty evolution of social media platforms has renovated E-commerce, communication and social connections, although at the same time growing complex apprehensions in relation with right to privacy. Although in case of “Justice K.S. Puttaswamy vs. Union of India (2017)” the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India recognized right to privacy as a fundamental right. Social media platforms gather, process and transmit huge amount of individual’s personal data frequently without any proper consent mechanisms, that leads to revealing individual’s data to surveillance, profiling and abuse of information. This research paper scrutinizes the legal and supervisory challenges regarding protection of privacy on social media platforms in India through focusing on Information Technology Act, 2000, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and the other legal frameworks and guidelines. The paper also examines the loop holes regarding execution, jurisdictional complications, and the absence of vigorous accountability mechanisms for the organizations related to technology. The paper deals with the existing legal frameworks which provide a base, but they remain unsatisfactory while addressing the vigorous risks that evolve through technologies, algorithmic governance and cross-border data transfer. Reinforcing supervisory oversight, increasing public awareness and arrange Indian laws with worldwide standards such as the GDPR which are very important for guaranteeing significant protection of privacy rights in this digital era.