New Digital Personal Data Protection Bill ‘on the earliest’, Centre tells SC

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Central authorities has knowledgeable India’s high court docket that it intends to introduce the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022, within the Parliament “at the earliest.”

The centre’s affidavit to the apex court docket said, “MeitY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology) initiated a stakeholder consultation exercise on the draft Bill, inviting comments from the public on 18.11.2022, the last date for receipt of which was 2.1.2023. MeitY is in the process of collating and analysing the feedback and suggestions received, with a view to take the draft Bill forward. As is evident from the above steps taken and consultations initiated, MeitY, subject to fulfilment of procedural requirements, intends to introduce the aforesaid bill in Parliament at the earliest.”

Centre’s response has been filed in a plea which is presently being heard by the structure bench. The plea was filed by two legislation college students – Karmanya Singh and Shreya Sethi – difficult WhatsApp’s privateness coverage of sharing customers’ private knowledge with Facebook as a violation of their elementary proper to privateness.

Further, MeITY in its affidavit stated the Ministry has additionally framed IT (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data of Information) Rules, 2011 to guard the private knowledge of customers.

The affidavit additionally stated, “section 72A of the IT Act provides that any person, including an intermediary, who, while providing services under the terms of a lawful contract, has secured access to any material containing personal information about another person, with the intent to cause or knowing that he is likely to cause wrongful loss or wrongful gain discloses, without the consent of the person concerned, or breach of a lawful contract, such material to any other person, shall be penalised.” 

MeITY’s affidavit additionally stated, “Central Government, in exercise of its powers under the Information Technology Act, 2000 [‘IT Act”], has made the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. These present, inter alia, that an middleman, together with a social media middleman, shall observe due diligence as specified within the guidelines whereas discharging its duties.”

NEW DELHI: The Central authorities has knowledgeable India’s high court docket that it intends to introduce the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022, within the Parliament “at the earliest.”

The centre’s affidavit to the apex court docket said, “MeitY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology) initiated a stakeholder consultation exercise on the draft Bill, inviting comments from the public on 18.11.2022, the last date for receipt of which was 2.1.2023. MeitY is in the process of collating and analysing the feedback and suggestions received, with a view to take the draft Bill forward. As is evident from the above steps taken and consultations initiated, MeitY, subject to fulfilment of procedural requirements, intends to introduce the aforesaid bill in Parliament at the earliest.”

Centre’s response has been filed in a plea which is presently being heard by the structure bench. The plea was filed by two legislation college students – Karmanya Singh and Shreya Sethi – difficult WhatsApp’s privateness coverage of sharing customers’ private knowledge with Facebook as a violation of their elementary proper to privateness.

Further, MeITY in its affidavit stated the Ministry has additionally framed IT (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data of Information) Rules, 2011 to guard the private knowledge of customers.

The affidavit additionally stated, “section 72A of the IT Act provides that any person, including an intermediary, who, while providing services under the terms of a lawful contract, has secured access to any material containing personal information about another person, with the intent to cause or knowing that he is likely to cause wrongful loss or wrongful gain discloses, without the consent of the person concerned, or breach of a lawful contract, such material to any other person, shall be penalised.” 

MeITY’s affidavit additionally stated, “Central Government, in exercise of its powers under the Information Technology Act, 2000 [‘IT Act”], has made the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. These present, inter alia, that an middleman, together with a social media middleman, shall observe due diligence as specified within the guidelines whereas discharging its duties.”