Why the Personal Data Protection Bill matters (The Hindu, GS-3, gs-2))

12 Apr Why the Personal Data Protection Bill matters (The Hindu, GS-3, gs-2))

Posted at 12 Apr 2021 in Current Affairs, GS Paper II, GS Paper III by Swarn Singh 0 Comments

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Context:-Data breach at MobiKwik could be India’s biggest breach with the data of 9.9 crore users at risk. It shows loopholes in India’s digital infrastructure.

Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019
- safeguarding the privacy of personal data of individuals (data principals) which is processed
  by entities (data fiduciaries).
- Processing can only be done for a specific purpose, after obtaining consent of the data principal. Such consent is not required in case of a medical emergency or by the State for providing benefits or services.
- The Bill provides the data principal with certain rights.
- Right to correct person’s data, confirm whether the data has been processed, or to restrict its continued disclosure.
- The Bill allows exemptions from many of its provisions when the data is processed in the interest of national security, or for prevention, investigation or prosecution of offences.
- Sensitive personal data such as financial and health data, can be transferred abroad, but should also be stored within India.
Positives:-
- emphasize data security and data privacy both.
- data protection regime to both government and private entities.
- entities
  - Have to fulfill a set of data protection obligations and transparency and accountability measures
- create an independent and powerful regulator known as the Data Protection Authority (DPA).
- users can find it difficult to enforce various user protection safeguards under the bill, which may have repercussions.
Way forward:-
- Joint parliamentary committee has made 86 recommendations, these must be included after due discussion with the stakeholders.