Tech Companies Turn To Legal Experts To Understand Digital India Act’s Impact

On August 3, the Indian government withdrew the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022, after working on it for years. It was announced that the government would come out with a new Digital India Act which would have a data governance policy framework, cybersecurity policies and guidelines, and a new data protection law. 

The Digital India Act (DIA) will reportedly be presented during the Winter Session of the Parliament as an upgrade to the Information Technology Act, 2000. Consequently, top technology companies are keeping a keen eye on the new Bill, and have roped in legal and technology experts to figure out the potential impact on their operations due to the DIA.

According to an ET report, these companies want the experts to analyse the upcoming regulations, pre-empt any likely conflict and prepare them for the regulation to come into force. 

As per reports, the DIA will cover the entire digital ecosystem from social media platforms to the Metaverse and Web2, Web3 crimes or offences. It will also impact large tech companies such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon and Facebook, experts told ET, citing IPs (intellectual properties), operations and revenue as areas of concern.

Similar to the data privacy clauses in the data protection bill, the DIA is reportedly looking to regulate OTT platforms, internet intermediaries, crypto assets and blockchain companies, among others. 

It will cover areas such as cybersecurity, cyber incidents, intermediary governance and social media regulation alongside content moderation, and so on. With that, it will work in harmony with sectoral laws, as it expects regulators to approach the digital era in consultation with stakeholders. 

For companies, it aims to develop self-regulatory methods, while it aims to provide internet safety guidelines for users.

The upcoming Digital India Act will be presented during the Winter Session of the Parliament as an upgrade to the IT Act, 2000.