MeitY To Keep Ecommerce Data Out Of Data Protection Bill: Report

MeitY To Keep Ecommerce Data Out Of Data Protection Bill: Report

SUMMARY

Indian government has been working on defining what constitutes personal data and what is community data

Multiple government policy drafts have proposed data localisation norms

Draft data protection bill is undergoing a second round of consultations

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is likely to deny the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade’s appeal to include ecommerce data under the purview of its proposed personal data protection bill. 

MeitY is said to take the stand that ecommerce data is community data and hence won’t be governed by DPIIT’s personal data protection bill. 

According to a media report which cited a government official, “issues related to public data will be dealt with through a separate process once the government has established what constitutes personal data. That will in effect help to define what constitutes public data.”

While the government’s definition of personal and critical data seems to be continually evolving, it is interesting to note that India has declared Right to Privacy as a fundamental right in 2017. 

Recently, MeitY was reported to have initiated a second round of consultations through a letter to select stakeholders seeking further clarifications on their earlier feedback to the draft personal data protection bill. 

The second round of consultation included questions such as: Can non-personal data such as data from ecommerce sites, and community data be made freely accessible to all? Whether storage of personal data should also be mandated in India?

Government’s Push For Data Localisation

Following the severe cases of fake news and data breaches around the world, the BJP-led government has been aggressively pushing for a data localisation regime in almost all the recently proposed policy changes, including the Amendments to the IT Act, draft ecommerce policy and personal data protection bill

Given these overlaps, there has been some obvious confusion among the stakeholders. The government is currently looking for ways to simplify its stance based on the nature of the data (personal or community data). 

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Office was said to take a stand on the country’s data localisation policies. “The matter is now with the PMO. They will firm up India’s stance on data localisation,” a government official has reportedly said earlier. 

Earlier at the G20 Summit, India’s Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal said that countries must have sovereign right to use their data including personal, community, and public data, for the welfare of people. He also said that advocating for free trade should not necessarily lead to justification of data free flow. 

Draft Data Protection Bill 

Indian government has also been mulling over a data protection bill for the last one year. The Draft Personal Data Protection Bill 2018 had defined personal data as any data of a natural person which allows direct or indirect identifiability. 

Further, sensitive personal data has been defined as financial data, biometric data, positive additions such as religious and political beliefs, caste, intersex/transgender status, and official government identifiers like PAN etc.

To ensure that Indians are not being affected by any global data breach,  the government had proposed data localisation mandate in the bill. It also proposed that one copy of all personal data to which the law applies are to be kept in a server within India. 

Further, certain categories of data, which are to be specified by the government as critical personal data are to be stored in India alone. At the same time, requirements for cross-border transfer of data are also imposed.

The bill had been opened for public consultations before and had received around 600 responses from a diverse set of stakeholders. 

Note: We at Inc42 take our ethics very seriously. More information about it can be found here.

You have reached your limit of free stories
Become An Inc42 Plus Member

Become a Startup Insider in 2024 with Inc42 Plus. Join our exclusive community of 10,000+ founders, investors & operators and stay ahead in India’s startup & business economy.

2 YEAR PLAN
₹19999
₹7999
₹333/Month
Unlock 60% OFF
Cancel Anytime
1 YEAR PLAN
₹9999
₹4999
₹416/Month
Unlock 50% OFF
Cancel Anytime
Already A Member?
Discover Startups & Business Models

Unleash your potential by exploring unlimited articles, trackers, and playbooks. Identify the hottest startup deals, supercharge your innovation projects, and stay updated with expert curation.

MeitY To Keep Ecommerce Data Out Of Data Protection Bill: Report-Inc42 Media
How-To’s on Starting & Scaling Up

Empower yourself with comprehensive playbooks, expert analysis, and invaluable insights. Learn to validate ideas, acquire customers, secure funding, and navigate the journey to startup success.

MeitY To Keep Ecommerce Data Out Of Data Protection Bill: Report-Inc42 Media
Identify Trends & New Markets

Access 75+ in-depth reports on frontier industries. Gain exclusive market intelligence, understand market landscapes, and decode emerging trends to make informed decisions.

MeitY To Keep Ecommerce Data Out Of Data Protection Bill: Report-Inc42 Media
Track & Decode the Investment Landscape

Stay ahead with startup and funding trackers. Analyse investment strategies, profile successful investors, and keep track of upcoming funds, accelerators, and more.

MeitY To Keep Ecommerce Data Out Of Data Protection Bill: Report-Inc42 Media
MeitY To Keep Ecommerce Data Out Of Data Protection Bill: Report-Inc42 Media
You’re in Good company