Data Protection Bill On The Cards As Parliament Monsoon Session Begins Today

The draft Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill is slated to be tabled in the Parliament during the monsoon session, which begins today (July 20).

As per an official document seen by Inc42, the draft has been listed alongside other key legislation pieces such as The Press and Registration Of Periodicals Bill, 2023 and The Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2019.

The DPDP Bill is part of the 31 Bills that will be presented before the Parliament for consideration and passage. The development comes a couple of weeks after the Union Cabinet gave its assent to the revamped draft on July 5.

The monsoon session of the Parliament will begin on July 20 and conclude on August 11. 

This will be the second attempt by the union government to pass the contentious bill. The previous iteration of the draft, called the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2021, was nixed after criticism from multiple quarters and after a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) proposed 81 amendments to it.

In response, the government brought out a new and revamped Bill in November last year which proposed a slew of changes to the digital regulatory landscape. 

Thereafter, on November 18, 2022, the DPDP Bill was released for public consultation. While we are yet to see if any radical changes have been implemented, the DPDP Bill, as structured, reads more as a Data Processing Bill rather than a Data Protection Bill.

The new bill has introduced the concept of data fiduciary and has also proposed reforms such as offering a user the right to give, manage, and withdraw consent for sharing information.

In addition, the Bill also increases the accountability of social media platforms, and envisages fines for entities violating data privacy norms. However, critics have panned the draft for its ‘vague’ provisions, adding that the Bill fails to differentiate between personal and sensitive personal data. 

The data protection bill is part of the union government’s ambitious multi-tier proposed framework which will likely cover the entire aspect of India’s digital ecosystem. These drafts, which include the Telecommunication Bill and the upcoming Digital India Bill, will aim to cover the decades old Information Technology Act. 

Besides, other bills slated to be introduced in the monsoon session including those pertaining to press and periodicals, which are eyeing to revamp the nearly century old press laws in the country. 

This will set the ball rolling for introducing other frameworks in the coming months as the Parliamentary elections are due next year. With much at stake, it remains to be seen whether these proposed laws see the light of the day, or are sent back for reconsideration like the previous time.