Govt releases new draft of data protection bill, invites feedback from the public 

With the aim to establish a comprehensive legal framework governing digital personal data protection in India, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has released a draft bill named ‘Digital Data Protection Bill 2022’. The ministry has been deliberating on various aspects of digital personal data to provide for the processing of digital personal data in a manner that recognises both the right of individuals to protect their personal data and the need to process personal data. Prepared in simple language, the government is inviting feedback from the public on the draft Bill by December 17, and no public disclosure of the submissions will be made.

Digital Personal Data Protection is a legislation that frames out the rights and duties of the citizen (Digital Nagrik) on one hand and the obligations to use collected data lawfully of the Data Fiduciary on the other hand. The bill is based on the principles around the Data Economy.

The new draft comes after the widely debated and discussed Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, which includes provisions like the rights of individuals, duties of entities processing personal data, and regulatory framework, among others. The government took into account the consultations and deliberations and has now prepared a draft bill. With European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation considered the best, the Indian government has considered the global best practices, including a review of the personal data protection legislations of Singapore, Australia, the European Union, and prospective federal legislation of the United States of America.

“It has become clear over the last few years that while the internet and technology is a force for good and connectivity, it is also a place where user harm and misuse can exist if these rules and laws are not prescribed. That is why laws and rulemaking for the internet has to be around the basic foundational principles and expectations of our citizens of openness, safety & trust, and accountability,” MEITY said.
 
The government said that currently there are over 76 crore (or 760 million) active internet users (Digital Nagriks) and over the next coming years this is expected to touch 120 crore (1.2 billion).

Also read: Govt introduces Digital Personal Data Protection Bill draft; check details