Open Access Research Article
CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTION OF INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS IN THE DIGITAL ERA: EMERGING CHALLENGES TO PRIVACY AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Abstract
Abstract
The transition from an analogue to an
algorithmically mediated society has placed unprecedented strain on the
constitutional architecture built to protect individual liberty. This paper
examines how constitutional courts, legislatures and regulators have attempted
to reconcile the right to privacy and the freedom of speech and expression with
the imperatives of a data-driven economy, platform governance and artificial
intelligence. Taking Indian constitutional law as the primary frame of
reference and situating it within comparative jurisprudence from the United
States and the European Union, the paper traces the doctrinal journey from
Kharak Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh and M.P. Sharma v. Satish Chandra,
through the watershed recognition of informational privacy as a facet of
Article 21 in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India, to the
operationalisation of statutory data protection through the Digital Personal
Data Protection Act, 2023 and the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025.
It further analyses the intermediary liability regime under Section 79 of the
Information Technology Act, 2000 as interpreted in Shreya Singhal v. Union of
India, the 2021 Intermediary Guidelines, and subsequent judicial responses to
fact-checking and content-moderation mandates. The paper argues that while
Indian courts have constitutionalised privacy as an intrinsic facet of dignity
and liberty, the legislative and executive follow-through remains uneven,
particularly with respect to surveillance oversight, algorithmic accountability
and the proportionality of speech restrictions. Drawing on comparative material
— the General Data Protection Regulation, 2016, Carpenter v. United States and
Google Spain SL v. AEPD — the paper develops a framework of layered proportionality
for evaluating digital-era restrictions on rights. It concludes with
recommendations for an independent data protection authority insulated from
executive control, judicially supervised surveillance reform, algorithmic
transparency obligations, and a re-calibrated intermediary liability regime
that safeguards both dignity and discourse. The analysis is intended to
contribute to the emerging jurisprudence on constitutionalism in the
algorithmic age and to inform ongoing legislative and regulatory reform.
Published Paper
Author Details
Authors: UMANG KAMBOJ
Registration ID: 1013069 | Published Paper ID: IJLRA13069
Year: Aug-2026 | Volume: 3 | Issue: 5
Approved ISSN: 2582-6433 | Country: Delhi, India
Page No.: 1792-1815
Article Information
CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTION OF INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS IN THE DIGITAL ERA: EMERGING CHALLENGES TO PRIVACY AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Authors: UMANG KAMBOJ
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Volume 3
- Issue 5
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- AbbreviationIJLRA
- ISSN2582-6433
- AccessOpen Access
- LicenseCC 4.0
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