New Data Protection Bill Opens Doors Of Justice For All: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Union information technology and communications minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that the draft digital personal data protection bill would be tabled in the Parliament as soon as the Budget session. 

Addressing the Times Now Summit 2022, Vaishnaw said that the draft Bill will open up the doors of justice for everybody, and not just urban tech savvy population. 

“Everyone is saying the bill will make justice accessible to everybody, not necessarily only those who are tech savvy sitting in Delhi, Bangalore or Mumbai who have access to everything. But people from Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, tribal areas of Odisha will also be able to seek justice under the bill,” Vaishnaw said.

He further added, “That is the response we have received about the bill, and going by the responses, I believe we will be able to pass the bill in the budget session.” 

On criticism of the draft law pertaining to surveillance, the Minister said that the Apex Court had already laid down the process which includes a lot of checks and balances. 

Citing cybersecurity threats, especially from state actors, Vaishnaw said that it was important to keep track of threats the internet landscape is under. 

He also said that the proposed data protection board will perform independently, despite the appointment of the members by the government.

“The data protection bill clearly mentions it will be an independent body which will perform in a particular way which will automatically guarantee its independence,” added Vaishnaw.

On the telecom sector, the Minister said that the country was perhaps headed towards the fastest 5G deployment in the world, adding that the government had set an ambitious target of two years to deploy the network pan-India.

Ashwini Vaishnaw highlighted that telcos were installing 2,500 towers a week, adding that the number was expected to grow even higher beginning in April. 

Farther From Reality?

The long-awaited draft Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022, was released by the centre for feedback earlier this month, after being in limbo for nearly three years now. 

The draft law defines the word data alongside narrowing the scope of the usage of personal data by companies. Aside from mandating data localisation and storage norms, it also specifies heavy penalties in the range of INR 50 Cr to INR 500 Cr for flouting norms.

While Vaishnaw hinted that the government has received positive feedback on the personal data protection bill, multiple internet advocacy groups and civil society members have reacted sharply to the draft law.

The Internet Freedom Foundation has accused the government of retaining ‘vague and unchecked powers…for itself to frame rules at a later stage in the absence of legislative guidance.’ 

On similar lines, Consumer advocacy body CUTS has claimed that the draft weakens the intent of consumer data protection and gives unfettered powers to the government.

Former Justice BN Srikrishna, who headed the panel that submitted the first version of the privacy law in 2018, told Inc42 that the proposed Data Protection Board could become a captive entity of the government and will completely lack the independence that is required for a regulator.