The Illusion of Digital Sovereignty: Reimagining Human Co-Authorship and Data Ownership in Indian and Global AI Governance
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This paper analyzes the structural collapse of traditional intellectual property and privacy frameworks under the weight of generative artificial intelligence architectures in 2026. Current regulatory approaches, including India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA) framework and global platform regulations, struggle to mitigate systemic data scraping. Platforms routinely exploit contractual ambiguities to appropriate human-generated datasets without explicit, granular consent. This study examines this inter-regime conflict through two lenses: the failure of the "mechanical tool" fallacy in copyright law and the emergence of market dominance via data asymmetry. To protect individual data rights, this paper proposes a practical "private-by-default" legal model. This approach treats personal data as an inalienable extension of digital identity rather than a corporate resource. Declaration of Generative AI Use: In strict accordance with the Elsevier / SSRN August 2026 Research Integrity Policy, the author states that an AI assistant was utilized solely to polish English grammar, syntax, and sentence transitions. The entire theoretical framework, legal analysis of the DPDPA, conceptual diagrams, and conclusions were originally conceptualized and authored entirely by the human writer. The author maintains full responsibility for the data and arguments presented herein.
Author: Mehta, Prerna
Institution: Rungta College
Language: English
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7203921119
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