Data protection Bill

THE Union Cabinet has cleared the decks for the introduction of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill in the monsoon session of Parliament. The draft Bill has been approved after consultations with organisations both within and outside the government. The proposed legislation has witnessed many twists and turns. It was introduced by the Centre in the Lok Sabha as the Personal Data Protection Bill in December 2019 and promptly referred to a joint parliamentary committee. It took the panel two years to submit its report, in which it recommended that the clause empowering the Centre to ‘exempt the processing of personal data by a government agency from the application of any or all provisions’ of the Bill should prescribe adequate safeguards to prevent misuse.

The Bill was eventually withdrawn in August 2022. Three months later, the government released the draft of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill and initiated public consultations. The draft had caused a stir as it exempted entities notified by the Centre from giving an explanation to citizens about the purpose of collecting and processing their data. It’s reassuring for the people that the latest draft reportedly does not give blanket exemption to government agencies, even as hefty penalty of up to Rs 250 crore has been recommended for violation of the Bill’s norms.

The importance of personal data protection and privacy cannot be overemphasised. The CoWIN case, in which there was an alleged breach of data of Covid vaccine recipients, has prompted the government to initiate an in-depth inquiry. Ensuring data safety ought to be a top priority in the new Bill. A key provision regarding transparency prohibits public and private entities (barring exceptions) from collecting and using data of people without their consent. Striking a balance between recognising the right of individuals to protect their personal data and the need to process that data for lawful purposes will be a litmus test for the proposed law.

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