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Legislative bills

Digital Personal Data Protection Bill Clears Lok Sabha Amid Debate

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

The Lok Sabha on Monday cleared the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill by a voice vote, with opposition members raising slogans on the Manipur issue. The bill aims to protect the privacy of Indian citizens and proposes a penalty of up to Rs 250 crore on entities for misusing or failing to protect digital data. The bill has been brought after six years of the Supreme Court declaring "Right to Privacy" as a fundamental right. Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw moved the bill for consideration and passage, highlighting its salient features, including simplicity of language and adherence to principles such as legality, purpose limitation, data minimisation, and storage limitation.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill aims to protect the privacy of Indian citizens by proposing a penalty of up to Rs 250 crore on entities for misusing or failing to protect digital data.
  • The bill has been brought after six years of the Supreme Court declaring "Right to Privacy" as a fundamental right.
  • Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the bill has been brought after extensive public consultation and has provisions to curb the misuse of individuals' data by online platforms.
  • The bill adheres to principles such as legality, purpose limitation, data minimisation, and storage limitation to ensure data protection.
  • Notice and consent will be provided in all 22 languages mentioned in the 8th Schedule to facilitate understanding among citizens.
  • An alternative dispute resolution mechanism has been put in place to handle errors committed by organisations, which will rectify mistakes and pay penalties.
  • The Right to Information (RTI) provisions have been harmonised with personal data protection in the bill.

Statistics:

  • Rs 250 crore: proposed penalty for entities misusing or failing to protect digital data.
  • 22 languages: notice and consent will be provided in all languages mentioned in the 8th Schedule.
  • 6 years: the time period it took for the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill to be brought after the Supreme Court declared "Right to Privacy" as a fundamental right.

Sources:

  • Lok Sabha proceedings, August 8 (no specific date provided in the source)

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