The Lok Sabha has cleared the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill. The bill was passed with an amendment to a minor drafting error.
The bill seeks to protect the privacy of Indian citizens while proposing a penalty of up to Rs 2.5 billion on entities for misusing or failing to protect the digital data of individuals. Once it comes into effect, all digital platforms will be required to obtain unconditional, free, specific, and informed consent from users for processing their data. They will also need to issue a notice explaining the purpose of data processing and the rights of the users. The government will appoint a data protection board, an independent body that will examine personal data breaches and impose penalties.
According to Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister of Communications, Electronics and Information Technology and Railways, the bill has been brought after extensive public consultation. The minister said that its language is simple so that even a common person can understand it. Referring to certain principles on which the bill is based, Vaishnaw said that according to the principle of legality, the data of a person has to be taken based on prevailing laws. He also said that as per the principle of purpose limitation, data should be used for the purpose it was taken for.
