Lok Sabha has successfully cleared the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023, despite disruptions caused by the opposition’s focus on the Manipur issue. The bill is aimed at safeguarding personal data and imposing penalties for non-compliance.
The Ministry of Information Technology has emphasized that the bill seeks to strike a balance between individuals’ rights to protect their personal data and the lawful processing of such data for legitimate purposes.
Under the provisions of the bill, companies and institutions can face penalties for non-compliance, as well as for failing to implement adequate measures to prevent data breaches. Moreover, they will be required to cease retaining user data when it no longer serves the original business purpose for which it was collected.
Manish Sehgal, Partner at Deloitte India, highlights the transformative accountability measures that the data protection bill will introduce, empowering Indian citizens with enhanced privacy rights. This move is aligned with the growing importance of privacy policies, security measures, and effective grievance redressal mechanisms.
The bill acknowledges the central role of data in the digital era and its significance in driving modern economies. The advancement of AI has accelerated the processing of personal data, necessitating a robust privacy framework. Hemant Krishna, Partner at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co., underlines the transformative impact of the DPDP Bill, asserting its potential to impact more citizens and businesses than any recent legislation.
To ensure the protection of children’s well-being, the bill prohibits the processing of personal data that could have detrimental effects on a child.
Compared to the draft circulated for public consultation in November 2022, the bill has introduced more lenient penalty norms. The bill outlines a schedule of penalties, ranging from ₹50 crore to a maximum of ₹250 crore for significant breaches of its provisions.
The bill also provides immunity to the central government, the board, and its members, officers, or employees for actions taken in good faith under the act’s provisions.
The bill empowers the Central government to block content in the public interest, based on referrals from the board.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and IT, emphasizes that once the bill is enacted, it will protect citizens’ rights, support the expansion of the innovation economy, and enable lawful government access during emergencies. He asserts that the legislation will curtail misuse and exploitation by online platforms, bringing about lasting behavioral changes and severe consequences for those mishandling Indian citizens’ personal data.
Source: ANI
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