The European Union has slapped Meta’s business in Ireland with a record fine of $1.3 billion for transferring the personal data of Facebook users to the U.S. As per EU, this transfer of personal data was in breach of the General Data Protection Regulation, or European Union law on data protection and privacy.

Ø  Tech giant Meta was hit with a record fine by the Irish data protection board for not complying with the European Union’s privacy framework.

Ø  The protection board found that Meta infringed Article 46(1) of the GDPR.

Ø  This article allows cross border data transfers only if an entity has ensured appropriate safeguards for it.

Ø  As per the Irish privacy watchdog, Meta’s use of an instrument known as standard contractual clauses (SCCs) to move data to the US did not sufficiently protect European’s data from America’s privacy regime.

Ø  It was also ordered to stop data transfers of Facebook users in Europe to the United States.

Ø  The penalty – which is the highest ever for violating EU’s GDPR – applies only to Facebook and not to other Meta group entities like Instagram.

Ø  The ruling comes with a period of at least five months for Meta to comply, but the company has said that it will appeal the decision.

Why did the ruling come from the Irish regulator?

Ø  As per the GDPR, cross-border cases are to be handled by the data-protection authority in the country where the company is based.

Ø  As a result, the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) is the lead regulatory authority for Meta and a number of other US tech majors.

What is the significance of this ruling?

Ø  The right of the individual over his/her data —

Ø  The outcome of the case buttresses the overarching theme of the EU’s GDPR —

Ø  the right of the individual over her data; and

Ø  the need for a person to give explicit consent before their data can be processed.

Meta will have to change its permission seeking mode —

Ø  The DPC’s decision could imply that Meta would have to tweak its apps to ensure that they do not leverage personal data for advertising or transferring to third countries.

Ø  Earlier, in January 2023, Meta was slapped with two sets of fine totalling €390 million ($414 million).

Ø  This fine was slapped as the EU regulator concluded that the company’s advertising and data handling practices were in breach of the EU's GDPR.

Ø  These fines could be a big blow to the company in terms of how its advertising model works:

Ø  Meta earlier relied on a user’s consent to process this information for the purposes of behavioural ads.

Ø  However, it tweaked the terms of service for both Facebook and Instagram on the processing of the information after the GDPR kicked in.

Ø  But these changes, activists allege, essentially forced users to accept the processing of their information for ad targeting for essentially using the platforms.

Likely ripple effect —

Given that the EU is the de facto global technology regulator, the rulings based on the GDPR’s broader tenets could have resonance across geographies, including India.

In India, the government is currently working on a policy framework for the tech sector, which includes — the new personal data protection bill, a comprehensive digital India Act that would eventually replace the existing IT Act, and the new telecom Bill.

India is hosting the 44th edition of the coveted annual ISO COPOLCO Plenary from 23-26 May 2023 in New Delhi.

Ø  This event is being organised by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the national standards body of India.

Ø  It is anticipated that the ISO COPOLCO Plenary is an event that has a significant impact on the global economy and on the lives of people.

Ø  ISO COPOLCO is reckoned as the major international event that brings together representatives from ISO member countries to discuss and develop strategies for accelerating the development of standards for the world.

What is committee on consumer policy?

Ø  It is a committee of the International Organization for Standardisation (ISO) responsible for promoting consumer interests in the standardisation process and for ensuring that standards are developed with the needs of consumers in mind.

Ø  COPOLCO members are ISO members.

Objectives —

Ø  To study means of helping consumers to benefit from standardisation, and means of improving consumer participation in national and international standardisation.

Ø  To provide a forum for the exchange of information on the experience of consumer participation in the development and implementation of standards in the consumer field.

Ø  To advise ISO Council as to the consolidated viewpoints of consumers on matters relevant to ISO's current and potential standardisation and conformity assessment work.

Ø  To advise ISO Council on the need for new or revised policies or actions within ISO as they relate to consumers' needs.

About International Standards Organisation (ISO) –

Ø  ISO is an independent, non-governmental international organisation made up of members from the national standards bodies of 168 countries.

Ø  Central Secretariat is in Geneva, Switzerland.

Ø  India is one of the founding members of ISO.

Recently, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) announced that global temperatures are likely to surge to record levels in the next five years, fuelled by heat-trapping greenhouse gases (GHGs) and an El-Niño event. The WMO warned that the economic cost of extreme weather, climate and water-related events has been rising.

Some visible evidences of the Climate Change -

Temperature Anomalies —

Annual average temperature in India has been increasing gradually.

RBI’s latest report on currency and finance states that the rise has been significantly sharper during the last 20 years than during any other 20-year time interval since 1901.

 Irregular Monsoon —

Ø  The south west monsoon is more erratic.

Ø  While the average annual rainfall at the all-India level during 2000-2020 saw a rise over that during 1960-1999, annual average rainfall in India has gradually declined.

Ø  Increased Dry and Wet Spells — RBI’s research suggests that while dry spells have become more frequent during the last several years, intense wet spells have also increased.

Frequent Floods and Storms —

Ø  Research about natural disasters since 1975 has shown that India is relatively more exposed to floods and storms (cyclones and hailstorms) than droughts and heatwaves.

Ø  “Such incidences pose significant risks to agricultural production and food price volatility,” states the RBI.

How vulnerable is India?

Ø  The Global Climate Risk Index 2021 had ranked India 7th in the list of most affected countries in terms of exposure and vulnerability to climate risk events.

Ø  India’s diverse climate is not only exposed to different temperature and precipitation patterns, but is also vulnerable to extreme weather events, posing wide-ranging spatial and temporal implications for the economy.

Economic Vulnerability -

Ø  The structure of Indian economy has evolved since independence.

Ø  Bulk of economic activity now happens in the services sector as against the agriculture and allied sectors. This has implications for carbon emissions.

Ø  According to the RBI, ‘Services’ are globally considered to be emission-light with relatively lower energy intensity of output.

Ø  A sectoral break-up shows that the highest emission-intensive sectors — metal industries, electricity, and transports (air, land, and water)— together account for around just 9% of India’s total GVA (gross value added) in 2018-19.

Ø  This implies that the sectoral composition of the Indian economy helps reduce its carbon emissions.

The Macroeconomic Impact -

Ø  Can affect supply and Demand — Climate change can adversely impact both the supply side as well as the demand side. It can stroke inflation, reduce economic output, trigger uncertainty and change consumer behaviour.

Ø  Employment Loss — In 2020, the World Bank said that India could account for 34 million of the projected 80 million global job losses from heat stress-associated productivity decline by 2030.

Coastal floods due to Sea Level Rise —

In 2022, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated that India is one of the most vulnerable countries globally in terms of the population that would be affected by the sea level rise.

By the middle of the present century, around 35 million people in India could face annual coastal flooding, with 45-50million at risk by the end of the century.

Government's policies to fight climate change -

Ø  On 30th June 2008, the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) was released.It is a national strategy of 8 sub-missions to help adapt and magnify ecological sustainability in India’s development path.

Ø  These are:

Ø  National Solar Mission (NSM),

Ø  National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE),

Ø  National Mission on Sustainable Habitat (NMSH),

Ø  National Water Mission (NWM),

Ø  National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE),

Ø  National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change (NMSKCC),

Ø  National Mission for a Green India (GIM),and

Ø  National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA).

Ø  On 3 August 2022, the Union Cabinet under the Chairmanship of the Prime Minister passed the updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for consideration by the UNFCCCunder the Paris Agreement, to reach India’s goal of net zero emissions by 2070.

Policy Actions' impact on GDP growth rate and inflation -

Ø  The Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) have created an analytical framework called the National Institute Global Econometric Model (NIGEM)“to produce policy insights”.

Ø  In this model, the researchers looked at how GDP growth rate and inflation would be affected under different policy stances when compared to the baseline (which is the best-case scenario involving no impact of climate change).

Impact on GDP growth rate -

Ø  Policy actions have negative impact on India’s GDP no matter what.

Ø  By 2050, India’s GDP is likely to lower by anywhere between 8.5% to almost 10% under current policy scenario, if India follows the NDCs) path of achieving net zero by2070.

Ø  However, if the global CO2 emissions reach net zero by 2050, then the hit to India GDP will be the lowest.

Impact on inflation -

Ø  The effect of stricter policy action will be opposite.

Ø  No change policies will keep inflation low at present but higher later.

Ø  Policies to achieve net zero by 2050 will result in higher inflation in the near-term.

Conclusion –

Ø  In 2020, India was the third biggest emitter of green house gases. As per climate analysts, India will not hit the peak of emissions by 2030, but instead, achieve the same between 2040 2045.

Ø  This trend may create hindrance for India’s energy transition plans for the second half of this century and therefore a pragmatic and far-sighted approach is necessary.