Personal Data Protection Bill 2019
Source : Indian Express
GS II : Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate

What is discussed under Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019?

1. Why the Bill been withdrawn?
2. What are the concerns other than cited by JPC?

Why in News ?

The government withdrew the Personal Data Protection Bill 2019 after intense scrutiny by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC).

Key Facts

• • The Personal Data Protection Bill 2019 was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, on December 11, 2019.
  • The Bill seeks to provide for protection of personal data of individuals, and establishes a Data Protection Authority for the same.
  • Centre in 2017 set up an expert committee chaired by retired Supreme Court Justice B.N. Srikrishna to formulate a regulatory framework for data protection.
  • Srikrishna committee submitted its report and a draft for the Data Protection Bill to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on July 27, 2018.

The committee was constituted by the government in the course of hearings before the Supreme Court in the right to privacy case Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India.

Why the Bill been withdrawn?

• • Significant number of amendments, recommendations, and corrections suggested by the JPC.
    • This includes 542-page report has 93 recommendations, and 81 amendments and members have suggested 97 corrections and improvements to the Bill.

      

    • JCP’s recommended changes on issues such as regulation of social media companies and on using only trusted hardware in smartphones, etc.
  • The key recommendation is to widen the ambit of the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019.
  • It should cover all data instead of just personal data.
  • Besides the government’s concerns from the tech industry, specifically from Indian start-ups, regarding the stipulations on data localization in the Bill.
  • The delays in the Bill had been criticised by several stakeholders pointing out that it was a matter of grave concern that India did not have a basic framework to protect people’s privacy.

What are the concerns other than cited by JPC?

Definition of personal data

• • Any characteristic trait, attribute or any other feature information” that can be used to identify a person.
  • Sub-category of Sensitive Personal Data consists of details on a person’s finance, health, sexual orientation and practices, caste, political and religious beliefs, and biometric and genetic data.
    • Sensitive Personal Data can be transferred abroad for processing, a copy of it must be kept in India.
  • Critical Personal Data Category which was “personal data as may be notified by the Central government” in the future.
    • Critical Personal Data can be stored and processed only in India.

Infrastructure needed to comply with the localization

• • Start-ups depend on international companies for services such as customer management, analytics, and marketing, which will require them to send data on their customer abroad.
  • Data localization requirements  reduce their choices of such services but also burden them with the compliance process.

Way Forward

• • The government may also consider allowing cross-border data flows only to trusted geographies.
  • use classification for awarding damages to people whose personal data may have been compromised by an entity.

Daily Current Affairs : Click Here

Contact US