Digital Personal Data Protection Bill Passes in India ahead of Independence Day 2023

The Digital Personal Data Protection bill passed by Parliament this week has received President's assent. The DPDP law aims to protect the privacy of Indian citizens while proposing a penalty of up to Rs 250 crore on entities for misusing or failing to protect digital data of individuals.

But the law has received a mixed responses with multiple experts raising concerns over the bill's wide-ranging government exemptions and dilution of powers of the data protection board.

Compliance Requirements and Penalties

The DPDP bill introduces several compliance requirements for the collection and processing of personal data, with provisions to curb misuse by online platforms. It also entails up to Rs 250 crore penalty for any data breach. Data of children can be processed after consent from guardians.

The government expects to implement the Act within 10 months. The bill applies to the processing of digital personal data in India, where the personal data is either collected in digital form or subsequently digitized from a non-digitized format. The bill defines 'personal data' broadly and gives users rights over their own information.

Mixed Response and Concerns

The passing of the DPDP Act has received a mixed response, with concerns around government exemptions and dilution of powers of the data protection board.

Critics argue that there are no safeguards when it comes to government exemptions, raising questions about potential misuse. In an interview, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and IT, addresses some contentious provisions in the DPDP Act.

He discusses topics such as exemptions for publicly available personal data, informed consent for web browser cookies, withdrawal of consent and retention of data, processing without explicit consent, notification of data breaches, norms for children and persons with disabilities, significant data fiduciaries classification, government exemptions for research purposes, composition of the Data Protection Board (DPB), powers to cancel DPB directions, fees for appeals, and blocking platforms as a deterrent.

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