Data protection: A privacy shield shouldn’t end up as a barrier

To resist AI dominance, sundry websites must keep users engaged directly, and will need to keep their privacy protocols as user-friendly as possible. (istockphoto)
To resist AI dominance, sundry websites must keep users engaged directly, and will need to keep their privacy protocols as user-friendly as possible. (istockphoto)
Summary

Websites must adopt new consent protocols under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, while chatbots grab web traffic. Sites taking a user-friendly approach could keep users engaged and resist AI dominance of the internet.

The internet’s interface with users has been jostled over all the way from its early days of web browsers to today’s handy mobile apps. Now tools of artificial intelligence (AI) have entered the fray, just as India’s online privacy law is about to kick in. Together, they could alter the dynamics of internet usage. 

First, consider the rise of AI chatbots since the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022. According to Mary Seeker’s report on AI trends cited by Plain Facts in Mint, India has more users of ChatGPT’s mobile app than  any other country; April data shows that we account for 13.5% of this chatbot’s global user base, with the US share of 8.9% placing its home market second. 

The concept has clearly caught on, which explains why search engines like Google and Bing now offer similar AI features. Some seekers of information have begun to see AI generated snapshots as sufficient, which means they often do not visit source websites even when chatbots present them a set of links. This suggests significant tolerance of AI’s hallucinatory risks.

Also Read: Rahul Matthan: Don’t let data privacy safeguards work against us

Meanwhile, all ‘data fiduciaries’ that operate in India, such as sites that ask for our identity and other details, may soon have to meet new user-consent norms under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act of 2023 (once final rules are notified). 

Not only must they obtain our explicit opt-in consent for each purpose they plan to use our data for—be it to set the site right for us, pool our files in for a meta-data analysis, aim personalized ads at us, or whatever—they must also let us flip past choices and delete data accordingly. If the mandatory protocols for all this prove too clunky, they could get in the way of website access just as AI begins to impact web traffic.

To be sure, India’s privacy law offers a valuable shield against the misuse of our personal data. The battle for this law was hard-fought, and while it’s imperfect, it serves as a vital piece of armoury. Its rules need to be implemented without ado.

Also Read: The agentic AI revolution isn’t the future, it’s already here

The worry lies elsewhere—in user behaviour. Although online privacy has been a rallying cry, users of apps and sites are reluctant to scroll through ‘terms and conditions’ when it’s so much easier to click blindly on an ‘I agree’ box and proceed. 

In part, the privacy law is designed to solve this problem of signing away rights without realizing what it might imply. Yet, while the law clearly aims to ensure that users know exactly what they are getting into, whether they’ll view point-by-point consent tick-boxes as a hurdle is yet to be tested. 

Also Read: Mint Quick Edit | India’s new privacy rules: A mixed bag

This assumes salience in the context of behavioural patterns that place a premium on speed. Web users who want to find out something fast, for example, are often content to consult a chatbot and save time on a deeper delve. If visiting a new site involves a consent rigmarole, even more web traffic may flock towards chatbots and stay there. 

Conceivably, this trend may concentrate power in a handful of AI market leaders that own a popular interface. It’s not just about information. Versatile tools of Agentic AI offering to execute odd tasks for us could come next to impact websites driven by interactivity. 

While it is unclear if AI bots could fill up online consent forms on our behalf (via, say, a digital power-of-attorney device), it’s clear that any such concentration of power would pose antitrust risks. To resist AI dominance, sundry websites must keep users engaged directly. And to that end, they will need to keep their privacy protocols as user-friendly as possible. A shield should not end up as a barrier.

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