The Kerala High Court in the case of Balu Gopalakrishnan v. State of Kerala passed an interim order on April 24, 2020 on the export of COVID-19 related data by the State Government of Kerala to a US-based entity, Sprinklr, for data analytics. The High Court held that certain measures were to be implemented by the State Government before granting Sprinklr access to the data. These measures include anonymizing the data, obtaining specific consent from citizens, and ensuring the return of data once contractual obligations end. The High Court also barred advertisements and the commercial exploitation of the data by Sprinklr. This judgment sets an important benchmark for all public-private partnerships in the post COVID-19 era in the field of data protection and emphasizes the accountability of the State in handling data of its citizens.
