Despite heavy opposition, this bill has been passed by the Lok Sabha. In such a situation, the biggest question is what is the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill and what are its special provisions, due to which it is being opposed.
DPDP क्या है डिजिटल पर्सनल डाटा प्रोटेक्शन बिल, विपक्ष क्यों बता रहा है RTI कानून को कमजोर करने वाला
The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill, 2023 was passed in the Lok Sabha on Monday. Earlier on August 3, the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023 was introduced in the Lok Sabha. As soon as the bill was introduced, it was strongly opposed by the opposition. The opposition says that this bill is going to weaken the RTI Act and violate the fundamental right to privacy. However, the bill has been passed by the Lok Sabha despite heavy opposition. In such a situation, the biggest question is what is the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill and what are its special provisions, due to which it is being opposed.
Digital Personal Data Protection Bill
The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 3 August by Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnav. The Bill provides for the processing of digital personal data in a manner It recognizes the right of individuals to have their personal data protected and the need to process such personal data for legitimate purposes. The newly drafted Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill, 2023 was passed with discussion in the Lok Sabha today.
These provisions in the bill
If the data of users is leaked by a company and this rule is broken by the company, then a fine of up to Rs 250 crore can be imposed on it. After this law is implemented, people will get the right to ask for details about their data collection, storage and its processing. If there is a dispute, the Data Protection Board will decide in that case. Citizens will have the right to claim compensation by going to the civil court.
The draft includes both online and offline data, which has been digitized later. If Indians are being profiled from abroad or goods and services are being provided, then this will also apply to that. Personal data can be processed under this bill only when consent has been given.
The Bill states that users’ data should not be retained unless required for legal or business purposes. The Bill also gives full rights to the owner of the biometric data. Even if an employer would require biometric data of an employee for attendance, it would require explicit consent from the employee concerned. The new data protection bill will help rein in social media companies, which will reduce their arbitrariness.
But on one hand where the government is counting the benefits of the bill, on the other hand it is being opposed by the opposition parties and some organisations. In fact, the bill proposes to amend section 8(1)(j) of the Right to Information Act, 2005. Currently this particular section prohibits sharing of personal information which has no relation to public activity or interest. However, the public body allows the release of information if it is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information.
Opposition MPs are demanding to send it to the parliamentary committee while objecting to this proposed law. TMC MP Saugata Roy, Congress MP Manish Tiwari and AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi opposed it while appearing in the Lok Sabha. Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary said that through this bill the government wants to trample the Right to Information Act. That’s why we will oppose such an objective. This bill should be sent to the Standing Committee for discussion.
At the same time, several civil society groups have also raised objections to some of the provisions of the bill. The National Campaign for Right to Information (NCPRI) said the proposed amendments to the RTI Act would give undue power to public information officers to withhold personal information. It has opposed the amendment to exempt Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act. The NCPRI said that the existing statutory framework should not be diluted which empowers citizens to hold the government accountable. It also objected to the Data Protection Board proposed under the Bill, saying it lacked autonomy.
Along with this, the Editors Guild of India has also expressed concern over some provisions of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, saying that these can adversely affect the freedom of the press. In a statement, the Guild said the bill creates an enabling framework for monitoring citizens, including journalists and their sources. The Guild has urged the Lok Sabha speaker to refer the bill to a parliamentary standing committee. It has also written to the Prime Minister, Rajya Sabha Chairman, IT Minister and leaders of political parties in Parliament about its concerns over the Bill.
However, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar dismissed the objections, saying that the RTI Act does not mean the right to personal information. The Bill simply says that RTI
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