Rajya Sabha Passes Digital Data Protection Bill Some of the suggestions from the Rajya Sabha members were to increase the penalty to INR 250 crore for violations related to children's data, and exemptions to startups and data fiduciaries should be based on the sectors involved, not on individuality
By Teena Jose
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The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill unanimously after some opposition leaders staged a walkout over the Manipur issue. The Bill was presented in the Lok Sabha last Thursday and was passed by the Lok Sabha on Monday.
The Bill aims to establish a comprehensive framework for the protection of personal data. Also, the Bill outlines both peoples' rights and the responsibilities of organisations managing and processing data.
During the opposition's arguments in the House, they have also made key suggestions such as the government should introduce directions or guidelines that the privacy rights of users as specified by the Supreme Court will remain intact with the implementation of new Bill, need for state-level Data Protection Board, clarity on breaches other than involving financial losses, clarity on personal information exempted under the right to information (RTI) Act, among other things.
While introducing the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, Union communications and IT minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw said, "The Bill has come into shape after discussions were going on around it for six years. We have given four rights to the citizens' – Right to access information, Right to correction and erasure, Right to grievance redressal, Right to nominate in case of death."
The minister also added that the provisions of the Bill are in no violation to the Supreme Court's Puttaswamy judgment on Right to Privacy. "All the three principles of Puttaswamy judgment – legality, legitimacy, and proportionality have been well taken care of in the Bill," the minister said.
Reportedly, some of the other suggestions from the Rajya Sabha members were to increase the penalty to INR 250 crore for violations related to children's data, and exemptions to startups and data fiduciaries should be based on the sectors involved, not on individuality. For the same, the minister reverted that the bill has been drafted primarily on principles and is not descriptive in nature and since many things are evolving, the government has included all the necessary concepts.
