Contouring the Behavioral Patterns of the Users of Social Network(ing) Sites and the Need for Data Privacy Law in India: An Application of SEM-PLS Technique

Abstract

In an era of online social networking, the data privacy is becoming an important topic for researchers to explore. To regulate collection, use and processing of personal data, one needs to understand the behavioral attitude of users of internet so that their need for a law can be assessed. Several studies in this regard have been conducted in other parts of the world where data privacy law is in place, but in India the data privacy was not even a right till recently, when Supreme Court of India declared data privacy as part of the fundamental right of privacy in accordance with constitution of India. The present study is a maiden attempt in India wherein structural equation modelling using partial least square method (SEM-PLS) has been used to analyze the relationship between the attitude of the Indian users of social networking sites (SNSs) and their perception regarding need for data privacy law. The study has validated the model for the correlation between attitude of the users of SNSs and their perception regarding the need for a data privacy law in India.