In a significant move towards safeguarding digital privacy, the Indian government is poised to release the administrative rules under the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act within the next two weeks. There are also strong indications that the final version of the Bill will be formally notified by the end of the coming month.
Executives from social media platforms and internet intermediaries engaged in discussions with senior officials from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on Wednesday (December 20). The key topics of the meeting included child gating, the formulation of consent architecture, and defining the rights and obligations for data principals, as reported by ET.
After years of anticipation, India’s data protection law came into effect earlier this year with the passage of the DPDP Bill in both the Lok Sabha on August 7 and the Rajya Sabha two days later. On August 11, President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent, transforming the Bill into an Act.
The DPDP Act mandates the establishment of a Data Protection Board of India to oversee its implementation. The board will investigate personal data breaches and enforce penalties in such cases.
With a primary focus on safeguarding the privacy of Indian citizens, the DPDP Act proposes substantial penalties, including fines of up to INR 250 crore for entities found guilty of misusing or failing to protect individuals’ digital data.
The Act not only enhances transparency for users regarding corporate data utilization but also provides explicit guidelines for companies, including startups, on how to handle and seek consent for users’ personal data.
Earlier reports from Inc42 suggested that the government is considering a phased implementation of the act. Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar mentioned that certain government entities, such as those at the panchayat level, MSMEs, and early-stage startups, might be eligible for exemptions initially.
Simultaneously, the central government has initiated the formulation of regulations for artificial intelligence (AI) to foster growth, protect interests, and encourage innovation in this rapidly evolving technology landscape in India.
