Data Protection Bill in Monsoon Session
Context:
On Tuesday, the Union government informed the Supreme Court that a new law, the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022, enforcing individual privacy in online space was “ready.”
Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022
- The Bill aims to supersede the present Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, which were published in 2011.
- The definition of “data” under the Bill is a “representation of information, facts, concepts, opinions, or instructions in a format suitable for communication, interpretation, or processing by humans or automated means.”
- The Bill seeks to provide a framework for the processing of digital personal data in a manner that recognizes both the right of individuals to protect their data and the need to process personal data for lawful purposes.
- The Bill separately defines data fiduciaries as persons who determine the purpose and means of the processing of personal data; data principal as the individual to whom the personal data is related; data processor as any person who processes personal data on behalf of a data fiduciary.
- The Bill proposes to create a Data Protection Authority to oversee and regulate personal data processing.
- Penalties for infractions of Bill’s provisions include fines and imprisonment.
- Individuals will be granted certain rights under the Bill, including the right to access their data, the right to amend mistakes in their data, and the right to be forgotten.
- The Bill intends to provide a grievance redressal mechanism via which persons can seek redress for abuses of their rights under the Bill.
Points to Ponder:
- The Union government has told the Supreme Court that a new law to ensure individual privacy in the internet arena, known as the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022, is “ready.”
- The Union’s Attorney General, R. Venkataramani, informed a Constitution Bench led by Justice K.M. Joseph that the revised Bill would be submitted in Parliament’s Monsoon Session in July.
- If passed by Parliament, the new Bill will supersede the current Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, which were published in 2011.
- In 2017, the Supreme Court declared privacy to be a basic right, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding online personal data from prying eyes.
- In an affidavit filed in court in January, the government stated that the Information Technology Ministry has launched a stakeholder consultation exercise on the draught Bill and requested public opinions.
- The Bill’s goal is to “provide for the processing of digital personal data in a manner that recognizes both individuals’ right to protect their data and the need to process personal data for lawful purposes.”
- The term “data” is defined in the new Bill as a “representation of information, facts, concepts, opinions, or instructions in a manner suitable for communication, interpretation, or processing by humans or automated means.”
- The Bill defines data fiduciaries as individuals who determine the purpose and means of processing personal data; data principals as individuals to whom the personal data relates; and data processors as anyone who processes personal data on behalf of a data fiduciary.
