DECODING DATA PROTECTION BILL 2023
Bill passage in LS brings India on the penultimate step of having its own digital data privacy law.
- Companies and businesses (data fiduciaries) cannot process the personal data of any user without his or her explicit consent.
- Companies which process such personal data must give exact details of the purpose for which the data is collected and delete it as and when this consent is withdrawn.
- The consent architecture provided in the bill is similar to other digital privacy provisions across the world.
- The bill has also moved to a ‘blacklisting” approach for cross-border transfer and processing of personal data, meaning that the government would specify certain geographies where data cannot be processed.
- The bill suggests a penalty of up to ?250 crore per instance of data breach and a maximum penalty of ?500 crore for all such breaches.
- However, it does away with criminal penalties including jail terms, envisioned under the older versions.
- The Data Protection Board can impose penalties, summon data fiduciaries, inspect the books and accounts or statements and even suggest to the government to block internet intermediaries from Indian internet in cases of repeated and severe violations.
- The absence of the provisions of ‘deemed consent’ has taken policy experts and organizations by surprise. Deemed consent is a legal concept that allows for the processing of personal data without explicit consent when certain conditions are met.
- The bill allows transfer and processing of personal data transfer to any country or geography outside India but companies have called for more clarity on various aspects around it.
- It also excludes processing of personal data put out in the public domain which will impact the operation of search engines and AI chatbots in the country.
- The bill has stringent conditions for processing data of children and parental consent is a must for processing data of minors with certain exemptions.
- It also states that undertaking tracking and behavioral monitoring of children is prohibited with certain exemptions.
POST PASSAGE BY RAJYA SABHA BILL WILL BE SENT TO THE HON'BLE PRESIDENT OF INDIA FOR THE APPROVAL.
