What is it?
In today’s highly digitized world, protecting our personal data has become a thing of utmost necessity. Therefore, the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill (DPDPB), 2023 was presented in the Lok Sabha on 3rd August, Thursday. The bill aims to regulate personal digital data and resolve breaches.
How will it benefit?
The bill is a significant step forward in the realm of data privacy, as it empowers individuals, referred to as ‘Data Principals’, to govern their own personal digital data. This means that individuals will have the right to access, update, and erase their personal data, thereby gaining more control over their digital footprint. This is a significant shift from the current scenario, where individuals often have little control over their personal data and how it is processed.
The bill allows the transfer of personal data outside India, except to countries notified by the central government. This mechanism may not ensure adequate evaluation of data protection standards in the countries where the transfer of personal data is allowed.
Data principals and their rights:
The person to whom the data belongs is termed as data principal. The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill allows some rights to data principles which are-
- obtain information about processing,
- seek correction and erasure of personal data,
- nominate another person to exercise rights in the event of death or incapacity and
- grievance redressal.
Along with rights, Data principals will have to follow specific duties. They must not:
- register a false or frivolous complaint, and
- furnish any inaccurate particulars or impersonate another person in specified cases.
Violation of duties will be punishable with a penalty of up to Rs 10,000.
Penalties:
The schedule to the Bill specifies penalties for various offences, such as up to (i) Rs 200 crore for non-fulfilment of obligations for children and (ii) Rs 250 crore for failure to take security measures to prevent data breaches. The Data Protection Board will impose penalties after conducting an inquiry.