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The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill has obtained Cabinet clearance and is anticipated to be considered during the Monsoon session of the Parliament. The bill attempts to govern the acquisition, storage, and use of personal data by digital players. In light of the Supreme Court’s declaration that privacy is a basic right protected by Article 21 of the Constitution, India’s continuous efforts to safeguard personal data and privacy have acquired relevance.
After incidences of data breaches and unauthorized use of personal information by organizations before more stringent restrictions were implemented internationally, the necessity for a strong data protection law became evident.
What is there in the bill the cabinet cleared?
If passed, the proposed rule would mandate that online businesses seek users’ explicit consent before collecting their data, give openness about how that data is stored and used, allow users to erase their data, report data breaches, and take responsibility for data security. The essential elements of the draft are anticipated to stay mostly identical from the version made available for public comment in 2022, notwithstanding the possibility of certain amendments.
The independence of the planned data board for dispute settlement is one factor that the commercial sector may find concerning. It is unclear how this issue will be handled, but include a statutory authority that is not part of the administration would have shown impartiality.
As a result, the legislation should by default provide individuals control of their data, allowing them to choose which data to share while also defining what data is required for the government to operate. It is critical to impose explicit restrictions on governmental agencies’ invasion of people’s privacy given the unresolved debate surrounding the use of malware like Pegasus. A balance between security and privacy can be achieved by the issuing of adequately vetted e-search permissions.
What is privacy?
Privacy is the freedom to hide oneself or information about oneself allows a person or group to express themselves in a selected way. Bodily integrity is another sort of privacy.
Throughout history, there have been many different ideas of what privacy is. The majority of civilizations respect a person’s freedom to keep certain details of their private lives private. Many nations’ privacy laws, and in some cases, constitutions, provide protections against unauthorised intrusions of privacy by the state, businesses, or people.
What is the status of privacy as a legal right?
The Indian Constitution recognises the right to privacy as a basic right. It is acknowledged in India as an integral component of the right to life and personal freedom protected by Article 21 of the Constitution. In August 2017, the Supreme Court of India ruled in the famous case of Justice K. S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India that the right to privacy is a stand-alone fundamental right protected by the Constitution and includes different aspects of privacy like informational privacy, bodily integrity, and decisional autonomy.
In today’s digital era, where people exchange enormous quantities of personal data with numerous organisations, including governments, businesses, and people, the right to privacy is an important one. A number of laws have been passed by the Indian government to safeguard people’s right to privacy. such as the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, and the Information Technology Rules, 2011. The Indian Parliament is now debating it. In India, the right to privacy is viewed as a crucial aspect of personal freedom and autonomy. Both the Constitution and different legislation protect it.
