Data protection bill: Everything we need to know

Opposition says bill will stonewall furnishing data of corrupt govt officials

- RAKESH KUMAR

THE government introduced the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill, 2023, on Thursday to safeguard citizens' data.

This is the third version of the bill, the work on which has been going on since 2017. It was year when the apex court of the country ruled that privacy is a fundamental right of the people of India, just like any other rights in the country. The decision compelled the government to come up with legislation to protect this right.

The bill was first introduced in the Rajya Sabha by telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw amid uproar from Opposition members, who were arguing that the bill had many flaws and it gives the government a free pass in case of breaches. Therefore, it should be moved to the parliamentary standing committee.

However, the minister called it a landmark bill, on par with world standards. Meanwhile, activists criticise the bill, complaining that it gives leverage to the government and dilutes the Right to Information Act (RTI).

This article will put a spotlight on additional rights citizens have gained, whether the government indeed has more power, and the current status of the Right to Information Act and the punishment for data breaches.

What rights citizens have?

According to the bill, no entities or data fiduciaries can use a person's data without their consent. If the data fiduciary needs to process data from people, it has to inform the reason and time for holding the data. Companies including Google, Amazon and telecom providers, banks, or insurance companies can't share data to another company without the consent.