Govt eases concerns over data protection act, says will release rules for consultation first

Participants at a meeting Wednesday also discussed whether there could be different transition periods for some categories of data fiduciaries.

Representational image | Pixabay

New Delhi: In a meeting held between government representatives and industry stakeholders Wednesday, Ministry of Electronics and IT assured that that the rules relating to the implementation of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, will first be released for public consultation before being notified.

The government also informed that it will establish the Digital Privacy Board in the next 30 days.

The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill (DPDPB) — which seeks to provide a framework for the processing of Indians’ digital personal data — became a law after receiving President’s assent last month. However, the Bill was met with concerns by stakeholders who feared that it would grant “unchecked powers” to the central government by way of exemptions as well as powers to block content.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology have since tried to ease concerns, saying that the new law does not dilute the Right to Information Act — as was feared—and that the exemptions given to the government were very specific.

Wednesday’s meeting was another step in this direction. It was attended by representatives from law firms, think tanks, tech companies as well as industry bodies.

“It was a great discussion,” Kamesh Shekar, programme manager, Data Governance & Privacy, at The Dialogue, told ThePrint. “It largely revolved around the next steps now following the introduction of the DPDP Act.”

“Government officials said that in 30 days they will establish the Digital Privacy Board (as provided for in the law) and will also come out with some of the rules – not all, but only those that are necessary,” he added.

Shekar also said that it was decided during the meeting that the rules would be released for public consultation first.

“Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar also sought inputs from all stakeholders on what should be the transition period given to data fiduciaries to comply with the law,” he said.

Participants at the meeting also discussed whether there could be different transition periods for some categories of data fiduciaries that might require a little more time to comply. These could include state government bodies or remote panchayats, MSMEs and start-ups.

“There were also discussions on whether there should be different transition periods for different sections of the law,” Sekhar said. “For example, can there be a longer transition period for complying with the section on getting age verification? So inputs have been sought on this as well.”