UPSC Prelims 2020 CSAT Paper II · Q2 of 80 Comprehension medium

Passage

In India, the current focus on the right to privacy is based on some new realities of the digital age. A right is a substantive right only if it works in all situations, and for everyone. A right to free expression for an individual about her exploitation, for instance, is meaningless without actual availability of security that guarantees that private force cannot be used to thwart this right. The role of the State, therefore, is not just to abstain from preventing rightful free expression, but also to actively ensure that private parties are not able to block it.

On the basis of the above passage, the following assumptions have been made : 1. State should have some institutions to ensure its appropriate role in a digital society. 2. State should ensure that private parties do not violate the citizens' right to privacy. 3. Digital economy is not compatible with the idea of not violating the citizens' privacy. Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

  1. (a) 1 and 2 ✓ UPSC's answer
  2. (b) 3 only
  3. (c) 1 and 3
  4. (d) 2 only

Why the answer is (a)

• The passage states that the State's role is to actively ensure that private parties do not block rights, implying the need for mechanisms or institutions to enforce this in a digital society, validating Assumption 1.

• The text explicitly argues that a right to privacy is meaningless without security against private force, meaning the State must ensure private parties do not violate this right, validating Assumption 2.

• The passage discusses the State's duty to protect privacy from private actors but does not claim that the digital economy itself is incompatible with privacy; it only notes that new digital realities require active state protection.

• Therefore, Assumptions 1 and 2 are valid, while Assumption 3 is not supported by the text.

Why the other options are wrong

(b) 3 only
Assumption 3 is invalid because the passage does not state that the digital economy is incompatible with privacy, only that the State must actively protect it.
(c) 1 and 3
Assumption 3 is invalid as the passage does not assert an inherent incompatibility between the digital economy and privacy rights.
(d) 2 only
Assumption 1 is valid because the State's active role in ensuring rights implies the necessity of institutions to enforce these protections against private parties.

Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2020, held on 4 October 2020. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

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