Lawmakers Approve Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2023

On Wednesday, the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2023 was approved by the Rajya Sabha through a voice vote after opposition members staged a walkout due to the Manipur issue.

The Lok Sabha passed the bill on Monday.

The bill, which came six years after the Supreme Court declared the “right to privacy” a fundamental right, includes provisions to prevent misuse of individuals’ information on online platforms.

Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the bill would impose obligations on private and government entities to collect and process citizens’ data.

The bill seeks to protect the privacy of Indian citizens while proposing a fine of up to ₹250 on entities that misuse or fail to protect individuals’ digital data.

Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw moved the bill for discussion and approval in the upper house of parliament: “It would have been good if the opposition had discussed the bill today (in parliament). But no opposition leader or member is concerned about this citizens’ rights.”

He said the bill has been introduced after extensive public consultation.

Highlighting the key features of the draft law, the minister said that its language is very simple, so even an ordinary person can understand it.

Referring to some of the principles underlying the bill, Vaishnaw said that according to the principle of legality, a person’s data must be taken according to existing laws and must not be used for the purpose beyond which it was collected.

A motion by Rajya Sabha member John Brittas and V Sivadasan to refer the bill to a select committee of Parliament was not accepted as they were not present from the house when the bill was voted on.

Deputy Information Technology Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said the law protects the rights of all citizens, enables the expansion of the innovation economy, and allows the government legal access in the event of national security and emergencies such as pandemics and earthquakes.