Skip to main content

Corporate Surveillance Practices And Consumer Rights - A Legal Review Of Consent Mechanisms In India

Author: LawSphereX

Category: Corporate & Insolvency

Published:

Updated:

CORPORATE SURVEILLANCE PRACTICES AND

CONSUMER RIGHTS: A LEGAL REVIEW OF CONSENT MECHANISMS IN INDIA Narendra S, B.COM., LL.B., LL.M. (Corporate and Commercial Law), Christ (Deemed to be University).

ABSTRACT

The technology boom happening in India led to formation of new principle of corporate surveillance. The giant corporations have been flourishing in India, and new innovations along with technologies. This paved the way to collect, evaluate, check and profit from the consumer data on an infinite level. The surveillance has been done in the name of customisation, accuracy, efficiency and even security. The threat has been faced by consumers because of this. In terms of rights, privacy, and autonomy have been facing a very shaky situation. The question raised here is where the term consent has been looked into? Where is the legal measure to protect the personal information used? How to tackle the issue?

This research paper examines the suitability of India's current frameworks, including the Digital Personal Data Protection Act of 2023 and the Information Technology Act of 2000, in governing consent procedures for corporate monitoring and protecting consumer rights. It evaluates the data collection and processing practices, determines if consumer consent is genuinely voluntary and informed, and draws attention to the enforcement flaws that compromise accountability. The paper makes reformative legal policy recommendations to strengthen consent mechanisms and shield consumers from exploitative data practices in India by comparing them to global best practices. ” Keywords: Corporate, Surveillance, Consumer Rights, Consent Mechanisms.

I.

INTRODUCTION

The digitalisation happening in India is the beginning of a new era, which needs new rules and regulations. 1 This breakneck has been remodelled to show how corporations interrelate with the consumers. The corporations include companies related to e-commerce, fintech technologies, social media and sector-wise applications. The business nowadays is like a fact driven one. It depends widely on the bulk amount of personal information. This can ameliorate the product. The advertisement will be an earn mark, and this will lead to a rise in the payback. This can be seen as surveillance capitalism. 2 It’s mentioned after seeing this trend by Shoshana Zuboff. 3And in this book, she states to see this surveillance capitalism as an uninterrupted inspection and makes money through consumer data and information.

” “The revolution has been brought forward by corporate surveillance, and it has led to more accuracy and precision. 4 At the same time we can see the cast down of the consumer rights. There are many Indian cases which has been pointing out to such revolution issues. 5One such case was the landmark judgement of Justice K. S. Puttaswamy v Union of India, 2017. 6In this case the court of last resort has brought forward the term of privacy and its importance. In our constitution, the right to privacy has been added as a fundamental right under Article 21. 7It had become part of the right to life and personal liberty. But in the real world, privacy protection is well established in the legislature that deals with the collection of data. 8” The individual data means personal data which is driven by the individual .

He will be the sole owner of that personal data and no one have control over it other than him unless he give 1 “Jothi, A. , Lavanya, A. , & Vijay, S. (2021). Digitalization in India: A needed gadget for business environment. International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts (IJCRT), 9(12). https://www. ijcrt. org” 2“Kordi, M. (2024). Surveillance capitalism: The transformation of raw online data into valuable assets by hightech companies—Is AI governance a threat or a solution to our privacy concerns? In The Palgrave Handbook of Sustainable Digitalization for Business, Industry, and Society (pp. 401–416). https://doi. org/10. 1007/978-3-031- 58795-5_18” 3 “Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power (2018). ” 4 “Wagner, I. (n. d. ). Corporate surveillance and the need for transparency.

In Auditing corporate surveillance systems (ISBN 978-1-108-83766-8). Cambridge University Press. https://www. cambridge. org” 5“ Mishra, K. (2021). Consumer rights in India: A walk in time. International Journal of Legal Science and Innovation, 3(3), 1128–1137. https://doij. org/10. 10000/IJLSI. 11828” 6 “Vrinda Bhandari, Amba Kak, Smriti Parsheera & Faiza Rahman, An Analysis of Puttaswamy: The Supreme Court's Privacy Verdict, 11 IndraStra Global 1 (2017), “ 7 “Chowdhury, N. (2018). Privacy and citizenship in India: Exploring constitutional morality and data privacy. NUJS Law Review. ” 8 “Sood, N. (2022). Data protection vis-à-vis right to privacy. International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation, XII(VI). https://doi. org/10. 51244/IJRSI. 2025. 120600161” consent. In corporate surveillance in India we need to see how laws are governing them.

The principle of consent is a big unsolved question in Indian context. 9Consent is frequently distilled to a solitary checkbox, acquired in contexts when the consumer possesses minimal negotiating leverage. This brings up important questions: Is consent in India really informed Or is it just an illusion that makes corporate spying seem okay without giving customers more power? ” 10 “In 2023, India passed the Digital Person Data Protection Act(DPDP ACT). This has marked a significant change in data protection history. The law has defined the term called consent. It needs to be free, specific, informed and unambiguous. This mainly focuses on the lawful proceedings of data and the imposition of duties on the data curator. 11We can also see the impact on efficacy. It has been made by broad allowance for deemed consent. It will lax enforcement measures and exemptions for state actors.

” “In light of this, the study's four main goals are to: (1) evaluate whether India's legal frameworks adequately regulate consent-based corporate surveillance; (2) evaluate corporate data collection and consent practices; (3) identify enforcement gaps and issues; and (4) Suggest reformative measures to improve consumer protection. Using a doctrinal approach, this paper draws from regulatory guidelines, statutory analysis, court decisions, and comparative viewpoints from international data protection laws like the GDPR. 12 By using this method, the study hopes to add to the current discussion about consumer rights, corporate responsibility, and privacy in India's digital economy13. ”

9 “NLUD Student Law Journal, Nat’l L. Univ. Delhi Press, ISSN 2277-4009 (2018), available at

https://www.nludelhi.ac.in” 10 “Maazaoui, A. (2016). Panopticon: Surveillance, suspicion, fear. The Lincoln Humanities Journal, 4(Fall). Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.” 11 ““Mark J. Taylor & Jeannie Marie Paterson, Protecting Privacy in India: The Roles of Consent and Fairness in Data Protection, 16(1) Indian Journal of Law and Technology art. 4 (2020).”” 12 “Magalhaes, M. A. de. (2021). Data protection regulation: A comparative law approach: Proteção de dados: Estudo comparado de normas nacionais. International Journal of Digital Law, 2(2), 33–53. https://doi.org/10.47975/IJDL.magalhaes.v.2.n.2” 13 “Kerti, R. M. (2025). Consumer protection in the digital economy: A legal analysis of e-commerce practices and regulatory challenges. Lex Localis - Journal of Local Self-Government, 23(10), 776–786. https://doi.org/10.52152/801041”

2. CORPORATE SURVEILLANCE IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT

We need to define what corporate surveillance is? The corporate surveillance is defined as the term used when the corporations track ,collect and use customer data for their business purpose. 14 This process will be, free, and legal? applicable in sector wise. In India it is shown as a improvement or next step to business. It act as a improvement and suggestion for business. When we look at platforms like Amazon, they will track consumers' search patterns and give good suggestions. We can see they are tracking consumers search habits and giving suggestions. 15 They also look into past purchases and payment mode to give customized offers. When it comes to finance the fintech companies are collecting data to evaluate credit score of the customers mainly looking into their banking details. 16 The social media also play a important role in this.

They collect personal data and use the behaviour or trends to promote ads for the improvement of the business. The behavioural data is not even safe . The health and educational field information has been taken by apps not as part of primary service but for secondary service and for efficient delivery. Surveillance is not a narrow one it works in a wide range. 17 The characteristics like profiling ,predictive analysis and behavioural tracking are done through it. 18Nowadays, it’s visible that Artificial intelligence is more prevalent, which has led to friction between corporations and consumers19. ” The corporate surveillance had positives like economic benefit, risk assessment, etc. But the negatives are very serious, like privacy issues, autonomy, and discrimination. 20Another factor 14 “Şen, F. (2020).

Corporate surveillance and strategy: How companies use data to understand consumers (Master’s thesis, Erasmus University Rotterdam). Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication. ” 15 “Fridh, D. , & Dahl, T. (2019). A consumer perspective of personalized marketing: An exploratory study on consumer perception of personalized marketing and how it affects the purchase decision making (Bachelor’s thesis”

16 “Shahriar Akter & Samuel Fosso Wamba, Big Data Analytics in E-Commerce: A Systematic Review and

Agenda for Future Research, 26 Electronic Markets 173 (2016), https://doi. org/10. 1007/s12525-016-0219-0” 17 “Cascini, F. , Pantovic, A. , Al-Ajlouni, Y. A. , Puleo, V. , De Maio, L. , & Ricciardi, W. (n. d. ). Health data sharing attitudes towards primary and secondary use of data: A systematic review. [Journal Name]. https://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC10963197/” 18 “Bejaković, P. , & Mrnjavac, Ž. (2024). The characteristics and role of digital literacy in an effective health protection. Heliyon. https://doi. org/10. 1016/j. heliyon. 2024. e29737” 19 “Basal, M. , Moulai, K. , & Cetin, A. (2025). Predictive analytics for customer behavior prediction in artificial intelligence. Economics World, 12(2), 142–154. https://doi. org/10. 17265/2328-7144/2025. 02. 006” 20 “Bogolikos, N. (1999).

The perception of economic risks arising from the potential vulnerability of electronic commercial media to interception (Workplan Ref. : EP/IV/B/STOA/98/1401). European Parliament, Directorate General for Research, Directorate A, The STOA Programme. ”” that affected most is trust. We can see that corporate surveillance is an economic issue. But not confined to just economic, our laws basic INDIAN CONSTITUTION is also facing challenges through this . 21 The roots of laws have been shaken and change is needed for reforms. The public is getting affected more and there is responsibility of legislature to protect the public. ”

3 LEGAL FRAMEWORK

GOVERNING CORPORATE SURVEILLANCE IN INDIA When India started its digital era, it started facing issues like online hacking, scams, etc. ,22 so it formulated the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, to tackle the online threats. 23 Under Section 43A, companies are liable if they are not protecting personal data and must use "reasonable security practices. "24 The IT (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011 was also made in a way to be compatible with IT law. ” The laws are formed with many shortfall. In the year 2025, they are still using the law formulated in 2000. The normal contract agreement says about consent, and it will be taken for the execution of the agreement. So here question arise what type of data is collected. We can see the restriction is only for sensitive personal data, not for other data.

25 The case is of civil type and payment of damages is the punishment and their enforcement is very weak when misused. The corporate surveillance can't be dealt with by the existing laws, which have given the basic regulation. 26” So with the flaws in existing laws India introduced the DPDP Act, 2023 to protect data. 27 There are many characteristics as new included in this act . It contains content-based processing, data 21 “Katrin Laas-Mikko & Margit Sutrop, How Do Violations of Privacy and Moral Autonomy Threaten the Basis of Our Democracy? , in Technoscience and Citizenship: Ethics and Governance in the Digital Society 99 (2016), https://doi. org/10. 1007/978-3-319-32414-2_7. ” 22“ Ranjan, R. (2024). The rise of cybercrime in India: An emphasis on online scams and fraud. In Multifaceted research (pp. 59–70). CIRS Publication. ” 23 “Athawale, A. P. (2021).

Information Technology Act, 2000: An introduction of cyber security provision in India—A study. International Journal of Law, 7(1), 26–29. Retrieved from https://www. lawjournals. org”

24 IT ACT 2000

25 “Yuanxin Li & Darina Saxunova, A Perspective on Categorizing Personal and Senesitive Data and the

Analysis

of Practical Protection Regulations, 170 Procedia Computer Science 1110 (2020), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2020.03.060”

26 “Berglöf, E., & Claessens, S. (2004). Corporate governance and enforcement.”

27 “Rishi, & Dhull, K. (2024). Critical analysis of Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 with reference to Right to Information Act, 2005. Educational Administration: Theory and Practice, 30(5), 15209–15214. https://doi. org/10. 53555/kuey. v30i5. 8548” fiduciaries, child data collection, notice requirements, etc. 28 The act is more advanced in a way it is impacting consumers. The term deemed consent is interpreted to show that it will increase the collection of data for different reasons . The scope is pointing that it will be more wider set. 29 The state components are exempted from this. There was public and private surveillance included in this. This advancement is being criticised for its wider view30. ” 31 The practice of unfair deceptive consent had become more relevant. For tackling this, the Consumer Protection Act 2019 came into force.

32 It tried to stop unfair business modus operandi . The use and exploitation of data has increased. 10 So the RBI has introduced guide lines for this. They introduced governance for this digital lending. When it comes to the healthcare and telecom industries, more and more responsibilities have been added to the data collection. The laws are made in a way to be more sector-specific. But when these laws work independently, it will lead to more protection and with more fragmentation. ”

4. CRITICAL

ANALYSIS

OF CONSENT MECHANISMS IN INDIA Informed consent is an important foundational aspect of protection of data. 33 The India a country who bears the lengthiest constitution of the world have most of its laws as lengthy only. Likewise, the rules framed, including the privacy one, are also long, tangled, similar to noodles in a Maggi bowl. The citizens of India do not read this policies. People are giving their consent without understanding it. When we download an app we just click accepting terms and conditions or when we visit sites we will just click accept all cookies. But by clicking that they are collecting our data and using it later, it will come out as a misuse. Many studies are showing this trend. The term consent lose its value through such actions. ” 28 “International Centre for Information Systems & Audit, PursuIT: Data Protection and Data Privacy, 9th ed.

, eJournal (Supreme Audit Institution of India 2023). ” 29 “Gellert, R. , & Gutwirth, S. (2013). The legal construction of privacy and data protection. Computer Law & Security Review, 29(5), 522–530. https://doi. org/10. 1016/j. clsr. 2013. 07. 005” 30 “Bhandari, V. , & Lahiri, K. (n. d. ). The surveillance state, privacy and criminal investigation in India: Possible futures in a post-Puttaswamy world. ” 31 “Taylor, N. (2002). State surveillance and the right to privacy. Surveillance & Society, 1(1), 66–85. https://doi. org/10. 24908/ss. v1i1. 3394” 32 “Pillai, A. V. (2020). Promises and nuances of Consumer Protection Act, 2019: A bird’s eye view. Consumer Protection Judgments. ” 33 “Mark J. Taylor & Jeannie Marie Paterson, Protecting Privacy in India: The Roles of Consent and Fairness in Data Protection, 16 Indian J. L. & Tech. 1 (2020). ”

The consent needs to be optional. So it is mandatory that it needs to be a free consent. 34 While downloading an app, we can accept the terms and conditions or not use the app. 35 So here the consumers are in a dilemma, they want to use the app but without losing privacy. But most of the app don’t provide so. The digital payment apps like Google Pay, Paytm, PhonePe, all platforms are working in the same mode as said above. This will force consumers to choose it. This forceful act is neglecting the optional choice of consumers. The rules and regulations, including the DPDP Act, are trying their best to protect consent. 36 It paved the way to make consent lawful. But this pro comes the con. Here, the negative impact is deemed consent. The data collected in excess will be claimed to it will be needed for business development.

The term necessary for the performance has been used as a weapon against consumers. ” All the laws are there, then what about their enforcement? The consent collection can be done only through the appropriate enforcement of the law. 37 The board which is empowered for their proper functioning is lacking powers in its own hand. While comparing with the existing rules they are limited and weak. The laws like GDPR which are existing are more powerful ones. 38 The questions and complaints of consumers are no more valid here. Their grievance redressal is not addressed in India in a way that it can resolve those issues on another hand it has increased those issues. 39The corporations are collecting enormous and infinite amount of personal data without fear or limit or even consent. The consent law is now acting like just an impotent one. It's in papers but not in reality. ”

5. IMPACT ON CONSUMER AUTONOMY AND TRUST

The corporate surveillance has done by exploiting the consumers. They are collecting all data without looking into what they need, and it’s a breach of privacy. This is affecting the consumers' independence and self-governance.40 The arm-twisting way they choose to obtain 34 “Kumar, K., & Rani, A. (2022). Free consent under Indian Contract Act, 1872. International Journal of Civil Law and Legal Research, 2(2), 41–43.” 35 “Lister, M. (2011). The legitimating role of consent in international law. Chicago Journal of International Law, 11(2), Article 25. Retrieved from https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cjil/vol11/iss2/25”

36 “ James Konow, Coercion and Consent, 170 J. Inst. & Theoretical Econ. (JITE) 1 (2014),

https://doi. org/10. 1628/093245614X13871984731086” 37 “Berlingher, R. D. , & Sabau, G. (2016). General considerations on the enforcement (application) of law. Journal of Legal Studies, 17(31). https://doi. org/10. 1515/jles-2016-0013” 38 “Nemer Zaguir, Guilherme H. de Magalhães & Mauro de Mesquita Spinola, Challenges and Enablers for GDPR Compliance: Systematic Literature Review and Future Research Directions, IEEE Access (Jan. 2024), https://doi. org/10. 1109/ACCESS. 2024. 3406724” 39 “Bhattacharya, S. (2022). A scientific understanding on the consumer issues in India and the laws protecting them. NALSAR University of Law. ” 40 “Klaus Wertenbroch, Rom Y. Schrift, Joseph W. Alba & Alixandra Barasch, Autonomy in Consumer Choice, 31 consent will affect the consumer. The data control of the consumer are going out of hand .

The understanding of the consumers' loss of privacy is lacking here in corporate surveillance. This will led to the loss of belief in online internet store or web shop. The condition of dubious will develop among consumers due to these reasons. They will question and think that their data has been exploited. Recently in news it is evident that in India consumer rights are been exploited. The examples are the Indian elections, where Cambridge Analytica predicted the winning scope through the collection of citizens' data, or the scams happening with the fintech apps. So this will corrupt the minds of people and they will think about using a particular app and its impact, and eventually it will lead to the stoppage of app usage. This will directly make a big bang on our digital world and India's economy. 41”

6. COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE

The GDPR was formed with a motto to provide a universal calibre for the term consent. 42 When it comes to the term called consent, we know that it includes many other factors. It's not just a single term. The conditions of consents are it need to be given freely without any outside pressure or apprehension and if this contents are there it is not considered as a consent. The consent need to be accurate , precise , uncomplicated and more transparent. When a consent is taken, it needs to be well-informed and sophisticated consent. The unremembered condition is a born universal nature of humankind. We cannot change this nature but we can take steps to reduce its effects. The steps include stern fines up to four per cent of worldwide turnover will be helpful. 43 It will guarantee the agreement. The violation of this agreement in India can be prevented.

The main way is to prevent using or providing the notice about privacy in simple language that a common person can understand. 44 The freedom to regulators is another content which will support the agreement. The violation will be prevented or discouraged through Marketing Letters 429 (2020), https://doi. org/10. 1007/s11002-020-09521-z” 41 “Simone Van der Hof, Eva Lievens, Ingrida Milkaite & Valerie Verdoodt, The Child’s Right to Protection against Economic Exploitation in the Digital World, 28 Int’l J. Child. Rts. 673 (2020), https://doi. org/10. 1163/1571818228040003” 42 “European Data Protection Board, Guidelines 05/2020 on Consent under Regulation 2016/679, Version 1. 1 (May 4, 2020). ” 43 “Josephine Wolff & Nicole Atallah, Early GDPR Penalties: Analysis of Implementation and Fines Through May 2020, SSRN Electronic Journal (Jan. 2020), https://doi. org/10. 2139/ssrn.

3748837” 44“Whitley, E. A. (2013). Towards effective, consent-based control of personal data. In M. Hildebrandt et al. (Eds. ), Digital Enlightenment Yearbook 2013 (pp. 165–[insert last page]). IOS Press. https://doi. org/10. 3233/978-1-61499-295-0-165” providing proper sanctions, including the above factors45. ”

7. REFORMATIVE LEGAL AND POLICY

RECOMMENDATIONS

The consent structures need to get more advanced. The data needs to be collected through twofactor authentication so that the accuracy and threat will be reduced. The choice will be more unambiguous. 46The indoctrination must be given to consumers to raise uprightness and digital competence. The presence of unaccompanied controller mainly to ensure firmness of the protection board and their emancipation. 47 The data has been collected in an enormous amount, and that will reduce eventually through new laws. The process of data condensation must fit in order for the proper functioning. The effectuate of a draconian resolution present there will act as a restriction. The facts related to computerised determining and picturing will be communicated. For that, we need a transparent system of algorithmic limpidity. 48 There will be a chance of shattering, incompatibility with the laws .

We need to ensure that there will be naturalisation of laws. So then only we can see the acts like DPDP, consumer protection, and it will align and compromise each other. 49The unlawful monitoring of consumers in class action need to be prevented with strong rules and regulations. ”

8 CONCLUSION

India's digital economy has been bearing fruit with the inevitable characteristic of corporate surveillance.50 This will keep consumer rights at gunpoint. The violation of consumer rights has been questioned in such contexts. But the legal reforms formed are fragile and dynamic, which makes it difficult to act in a more accurate way. That's the reason why the question of

45 “UNESCO. (2023). Safeguarding freedom of expression and access to information: Guidelines for a

multistakeholder approach in the context of regulating digital platforms. Internet for Trust – Towards Guidelines for Regulating Digital Platforms for Information as a Public Good, Paris, 2023. CI-FEJ/FOEO/3 Rev. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/” 46 “Carl Magnus Bruhner, David Hasselquist & Niklas Carlsson, Bridging the Privacy Gap: Enhanced User Consent Mechanisms on the Web, Workshop on Measurements, Attacks, and Defenses for the Web (Jan. 2023), https://doi.org/10.14722/madweb.2023.23017” 47 “International Centre for Information Systems & Audit, PursuIT: Data Protection and Data Privacy, 9th ed., e-Journal (Supreme Audit Institution of India 2023).”

48 “Niklas Kossow, Svea Windwehr & Matthew Jenkins, Algorithmic Transparency and Accountability,

Transparency International Anti-Corruption Helpdesk Answer (Feb. 5, 2021). ” 49 “Seetharamu, S. , Manasa, L. C. N. , Bhattacharya, A. , & Chitra, B. (2024). Digital data protection laws: A review. International Journal of Scientific Research in Science Engineering and Technology, 11(5), 64–75. https://doi. org/10. 32628/IJSRSET2411416” 50 “Rani, K. , & Tiwari, P. (2023). A legal study relating to consumer rights and digital marketplace in India. International Journal of Law Management & Humanities, 7(3), 24. ” privacy has come into the scene. 51 The DPDP Act of 2023 has tried to bring some reforms into this new corporate surveillance term, but is facing issues, especially with privacy protection and consent. 52The privacy protection is kept in menace by this dainty law enforcement.

Furthermore, the equivocacy of agreements and licit foundation around data collection, processing, and sharing may result in uncertainty in data privacy practices. So here we can see the gaps especially in consent procedures. The freedom that is given to corporate surveillance is infinite, and it will lead to the exploitation of consumers. This needs to be noted by the regulators and consumers because then only they can create a framework which will put a stop to this exploitation. 53 The power with the regulators need to be increased at the same time the more information need to be shared with consumers about the data collection done through corporate surveillance. 54Article 21 of the Indian Constitution has recognised the right to privacy as one of the remarkable fundamental rights. 55This has given new reforms to the Indian Constitution.

Now this corporate surveillance has been questioning this newly reformed term. 56 The consent procedure need to be done more strongly and effectively in order to protect consumers from vulnerable situations. The customers data need to keep safe so giving more powers will give them more ability to question the violations. It will act as a confidence booster to consumers in this digital world. The Innovations have been increasing day by day. 57But the upheaval need to be balanced with responsibility. So, it is inevitable to keep the balance between these two factors. 58” 51 “Cantatore, F. , & Marshall, B. (n. d. ). Safeguarding consumer rights in a technology driven marketplace. Bond University, Faculty of Law. https://www. accc. gov. au/system/files/Digital%20platforms%20inquiry%20- %20final%20report. pdf”

52 “ Junkai Ding & Xiaoyan Quan, Legal Challenges in Protecting Personal Information in Big Data

Environments (Mar. 5, 2025” 53“ Izaguirre, J. C. (2020). Making consumer protection regulation more customer-centric. Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP). https://www. cgap. org/research/publication/making-consumer-protection-regulationmore-customer-centric” 54 “Basan, A. P. , & Couto, J. H. de O. (2024). Consumer surveillance and personal data protection as a fundamental right. Brazilian Journal of Law, Technology and Innovation, 2(2), 84–97. https://doi. org/10. 59224/bjlti. v2i2. 84-97” 55 “Bhardwaj, R. , & Aggarwal, A. (2025). Right to privacy as a fundamental right. International Journal of Multisubject Technology, 7(5), 7–12. https://www. multisubjectjournal. com” 56 “Kakkar, J. M. , Kaur, N. , Aravindakshan, S. , Mohan, S. , Agarwal, S. , Movva, S. , Devadasan, V. , & Bhandari, V. (2023). The surveillance law landscape in India and the impact of Puttaswamy.

National Law University Delhi Press. ” 57 “Martin, K. D. , Borah, A. , & Palmatier, R. (2016). Data privacy: Effects on customer and firm performance. Journal of Marketing, 81(1). https://doi. org/10. 1509/jm. 15. 0497” 58 “OECD. (2022, July). The role of online marketplaces in protecting and empowering consumers: Country and business survey findings (OECD Digital Economy Papers, No. 329). OECD Publishing. ”

References

International Centre for Information Systems & Audit. (2023). PursuIT: Data protection and data privacy (9th ed. ). e-Journal. Supreme Audit Institution of India. ” Kossow, N. , Windwehr, S. , & Jenkins, M. (2021, February 5). Algorithmic transparency and accountability. Transparency International, Anti-Corruption Helpdesk Answer. ” Rani, K. , & Tiwari, P. (2023). A legal study relating to consumer rights and digital marketplace in India. International Journal of Law Management & Humanities, 7(3), 24. ” Ding, J. , & Quan, X. (2025, March 5). Legal challenges in protecting personal information in big data environments. ” Kakkar, J. M. , Kaur, N. , Aravindakshan, S. , Mohan, S. , Agarwal, S. , Movva, S. , Devadasan, V. , & Bhandari, V. (2023). The surveillance law landscape in India and the impact of Puttaswamy. National Law University Delhi Press. ” OECD. (2022, July).

The role of online marketplaces in protecting and empowering consumers: Country and business survey findings (OECD Digital Economy Papers, No. 329). OECD Publishing. https://doi. org/10. 1787/2084c6f8-en” Wertenbroch, K. , Schrift, R. Y. , Alba, J. W. , & Barasch, A. (2020). Autonomy in consumer choice. Marketing Letters, 31(4), 429–439. https://doi. org/10. 1007/s11002-020-09521-z” Van der Hof, S. , Lievens, E. , Milkaite, I. , & Verdoodt, V. (2020). The child’s right to protection against economic exploitation in the digital world. The International Journal of Children’s Rights, 28(4), 673–698. https://doi. org/10. 1163/15718182-28040003” European Data Protection Board. (2020, May 4). Guidelines 05/2020 on consent under Regulation (Version 1. 1). https://edpb. europa. eu/our-worktools/ourdocuments/guidelines/guidelines-052020-consent-under-regulation-2016679_en” Wolff, J.

, & Atallah, N. (2020, January). Early GDPR penalties: Analysis of implementation and fines through May 2020. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi. org/10. 2139/ssrn. 3748837” Bruhner, C. M. , Hasselquist, D. , & Carlsson, N. (2023, January). Bridging the privacy gap: Enhanced user consent mechanisms on the web. Workshop on Measurements, Attacks, and Defenses for the Web. https://doi. org/10. 14722/madweb. 2023. 23017” Taylor, M. J. , & Paterson, J. M. (2020). Protecting privacy in India: The roles of consent and fairness in data protection. Indian Journal of Law and Technology, 16(1), 1–38. ” Konow, J. (2014). Coercion and consent. Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), 170(1), 1–19. https://doi. org/10. 1628/093245614X13871984731086” Zaguir, N. , de Magalhães, G. H. , & de Mesquita Spinola, M. (2024, January).

Challenges and enablers for GDPR compliance: Systematic literature review and future research directions. IEEE Access. https://doi. org/10. 1109/ACCESS. 2024. 3406724” “Akter, S. , & Wamba, S. F. (2016). Big data analytics in e-commerce: A systematic review and agenda for future research. Electronic Markets, 26(2), 173–194. https://doi. org/10. 1007/s12525-016-0219-0” “Laas-Mikko, K. , & Sutrop, M. (2016). How do violations of privacy and moral autonomy threaten the basis of our democracy? In M. Hildebrandt, K. O’Hara, & M. W. Taddeo (Eds. ), Technoscience and citizenship: Ethics and governance in the digital society (pp. 99–119). Springer. https://doi. org/10. 1007/978-3-319-32414-2_7” “Government of India. (2000). Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act 2000). https://www. meity. gov. in/content/information-technology-act-2000” “Li, Y. , & Saxunova, D. (2020).

A perspective on categorizing personal and sensitive data and the analysis of practical protection regulations. Procedia Computer Science, 170, 1110–1117. https://doi. org/10. 1016/j. procs. 2020. 03. 060” “International Centre for Information Systems & Audit. (2023). PursuIT: Data protection and data privacy (9th ed. ). e-Journal. Supreme Audit Institution of India. ” National Law University Delhi. (2018). NLUD Student Law Journal. National Law University Delhi Press. https://www. nludelhi. ac. in” “Taylor, M. J. , & Paterson, J. M. (2020). Protecting privacy in India: The roles of consent and fairness in data protection. Indian Journal of Law and Technology, 16(1), Article 4. ”

“Wagner, I. (n. d. ). Corporate surveillance and the need for transparency. In Auditing corporate surveillance systems (ISBN 978-1-108-83766-8). Cambridge University Press. https://www. cambridge. org” “Martin, K. D. , Borah, A. , & Palmatier, R. (2016). Data privacy: Effects on customer and firm performance. Journal of Marketing, 81(1). https://doi. org/10. 1509/jm. 15. 0497 “Bhardwaj, R. , & Aggarwal, A. (2025). Right to privacy as a fundamental right. International Journal of Multisubject Technology, 7(5), 7–12. https://www. multisubjectjournal. com” “Basan, A. P. , & Couto, J. H. de O. (2024). Consumer surveillance and personal data protection as a fundamental right. Brazilian Journal of Law, Technology and Innovation, 2(2), 84–97. https://doi. org/10. 59224/bjlti. v2i2. 84-97” “Izaguirre, J. C. (2020). Making consumer protection regulation more customer-centric.

Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP). https://www. cgap. org/research/publication/making-consumer-protection-regulation-morecustomer-centric” “Magalhaes, M. A. de. (2021). Data protection regulation: A comparative law approach: “Proteção de dados: Estudo comparado de normas nacionais. International Journal of Digital Law, 2(2), 33–53. https://doi. org/10. 47975/IJDL. magalhaes. v. 2. n. 2” “Kerti, R. M. (2025). Consumer protection in the digital economy: A legal analysis of ecommerce practices and regulatory challenges. Lex Localis - Journal of Local Self- Government, 23(10), 776–786. https://doi. org/10. 52152/801041” “Ranjan, R. (2024). The rise of cybercrime in India: An emphasis on online scams and fraud. In Multifaceted research (pp. 59–70). CIRS Publication. ” “Şen, F. (2020).

Corporate surveillance and strategy: How companies use data to understand consumers (Master’s thesis, Erasmus University Rotterdam). Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication. ” Mishra, K. (2021). Consumer rights in India: A walk in time. International Journal of Legal Science and Innovation, 3(3), 1128–1137. https://doij. org/10. 10000/IJLSI. 11828 “Taylor, N. (2002). State surveillance and the right to privacy. Surveillance & Society, 1(1), 66–85. https://doi. org/10. 24908/ss. v1i1. 3394 “Seetharamu, S. , Manasa, L. C. N. , Bhattacharya, A. , & Chitra, B. (2024). Digital data protection laws: A review. International Journal of Scientific Research in Science Engineering and Technology, 11(5), 64–75. https://doi. org/10. 32628/I” “Athawale, A. P. (2021). Information Technology Act, 2000: An introduction of cyber security provision in India—A study.

International Journal of Law, 7(1), 26–29. Retrieved from https://www. lawjournals. org” “Kumar, K. , & Rani, A. (2022). Free consent under Indian Contract Act, 1872. International Journal of Civil Law and Legal Research, 2(2), 41–43. ” “Lister, M. (2011). The legitimating role of consent in international law. Chicago Journal of International Law, 11(2), Article 25. Retrieved from https://chicagounbound. uchicago. edu/cjil/vol11/iss2/25” “Bogolikos, N. (1999). The perception of economic risks arising from the potential vulnerability of electronic commercial media to interception (Workplan Ref. : EP/IV/B/STOA/98/1401). European Parliament, Directorate General for Research, Directorate A, The STOA Programme. ” Chowdhury, N. (2018). Privacy and citizenship in India: Exploring constitutional morality and data privacy. NUJS Law Review. ” “Pillai, A. V. (2020).

Promises and nuances of Consumer Protection Act, 2019: A bird’s eye view. Consumer Protection Judgments. ” “Rishi, & Dhull, K. (2024). Critical analysis of Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 with reference to Right to Information Act, 2005. Educational Administration: Theory and Practice, 30(5), 15209–15214. https://doi. org/10. 53555/kuey. v30i5. 8548” “Berlingher, R. D. , & Sabau, G. (2016). General considerations on the enforcement (application) of law. Journal of Legal Studies, 17(31). https://doi. org/10. 1515/jles-2016-0013” “Maazaoui, A. (2016). Panopticon: Surveillance, suspicion, fear. The Lincoln Humanities Journal, 4 (Fall). Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. ” “Gellert, R. , & Gutwirth, S. (2013). The legal construction of privacy and data protection. Computer Law & Security Review, 29(5), 522–530. https://doi. org/10.

1016/j. clsr. 2013. 07. 005” “Whitley, E. A. (2013). Towards effective, consent-based control of personal data. In M. Hildebrandt et al. (Eds. ), Digital Enlightenment Yearbook 2013 (pp. 165–[insert last page]). IOS Press. https://doi. org/10. 3233/978-1-61499-295-0-165” “UNESCO. (2023). Safeguarding freedom of expression and access to information: Guidelines for a multistakeholder approach in the context of regulating digital platforms. Internet for Trust – Towards Guidelines for Regulating Digital Platforms for Information as a Public Good, Paris,

2023. CI-FEJ/FOEO/3 Rev. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/”

“Jothi, A. , Lavanya, A. , & Vijay, S. (2021). Digitalization in India: A needed gadget for business environment. International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts (IJCRT), 9(12). https://www. ijcrt. org” “Fridh, D. , & Dahl, T. (2019). A consumer perspective of personalized marketing: An exploratory study on consumer perception of personalized marketing and how it affects the purchase decision making (Bachelor’s thesis, “ “Bhattacharya, S. (2022). A scientific understanding of the consumer issues in India and the laws protecting them. NALSAR University of Law. ” “Bhandari, V. , & Lahiri, K. (n. d. ). The surveillance state, privacy and criminal investigation in India: Possible futures in a post-Puttaswamy world. ” “Sood, N. (2022). Data protection vis-à-vis right to privacy. International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation, XII(VI). https://doi. org/10. 51244/IJRSI. 2025.

120600161” “Berglöf, E. , & Claessens, S. (2004). Corporate governance and enforcement. ” “Kordi, M. (2024). Surveillance capitalism: The transformation of raw online data into valuable assets by high-tech companies—Is AI governance a threat or a solution to our privacy concerns? In The Palgrave Handbook of Sustainable Digitalization for Business, Industry, and Society (pp. 401–416). https://doi. org/10. 1007/978-3-031-58795-5_18 “Basal, M. , Moulai, K. , & Cetin, A. (2025). Predictive analytics for customer behavior prediction in artificial intelligence. Economics World, 12(2), 142–154. https://doi. org/10. 17265/2328-7144/2025. 02. 006” “Cantatore, F. , & Marshall, B. (n. d. ). Safeguarding consumer rights in a technology driven marketplace. Bond University, Faculty of Law. https://www. accc. gov. au/system/files/Digital%20platforms%20inquiry%20- %20final%20report. pdf “Bejaković, P.

, & Mrnjavac, Ž. (2024). The characteristics and role of digital literacy in an effective health protection. Heliyon. https://doi. org/10. 1016/j. heliyon. 2024. e29737 “Cascini, F. , Pantovic, A. , Al-Ajlouni, Y. A. , Puleo, V. , De Maio, L. , & Ricciardi, W. (n. d. ). Health data sharing attitudes towards primary and secondary use of data: A systematic review. https://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC10963197/”