"Multiple scandals involving Facebook and Cambridge Analytica have made one thing clear – the failure of market forces to uphold privacy and protect user data. As long as there is demand for data, coupled with weak enforcement of laws, our privacy and data will remain vulnerable in the hands of private players. But it’s not just the private sector, the Edward Snowden revelations were the key to unearthing the extent to which surveillance is entrenched in the systems of government which, in the absence of reform, will only expose our privacy and data to greater risk.

These are the fundamental concerns which justify the presence of a strong privacy regulator with effective independence and functional powers to enforce compliance. The regulator must necessarily prioritise user privacy above everything else because of the power dynamics and information asymmetry present today in how our data is treated....."

Read more at the Wire.