NHRC Chairman Justice V. Ramasubramanian in city

Mysore/Mysuru: “Social media must be used very cautiously and with alertness,” opined National  Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairman Justice V. Ramasubramanian, also a former Supreme Court Judge.

He was delivering a talk on the subject ‘Privacy, Technology and Surveillance: The Future of Human Rights in the Digital Era’ at a programme organised by JSSLC Alumni Association & Neeti Forum at Silver Jubilee Hall in JSS Law College (JSSLC) premises in Kuvempunagar here this morning.

Underlining the dangers of downloading everything from social media and the internet just because they are accessible freely most of the times, Justice Ramasubramanian said, there are chances of data theft by unscrupulous elements, who may later use the stolen data for bad intention, malicious propaganda or other  criminal purposes.

Highlighting the salient features of the law meant for protecting privacy, he said that social media users can use this law to protect themselves against malicious intent. “We should be careful and alert enough to save ourselves from becoming victims of online fraudulent ways and methods in this digital era. We should not open our doors for fraudsters to prey on us and then blame the law, the Police or other enforcement agencies for having become victims of our own negligence,” he maintained.

Pointing out that the Right of Privacy has its origins in the USA dating back to 1680, he said this law is being regularly updated in keeping with the times and to take on the newer challenges in this era of digital world. Expressing concern over rising Cyber crimes and frauds, he said that latest explorations in technology  must be used for tackling such acts.

JSS Law College Principal Dr. N. Vanishree, Controller of Examinations Prof. P. Shivananda Bharathi and IQAC Co-ordinator Dr. A.T. Jagadish were present.