Data Protection Bill Referred to Joint Committee, Concerns Remain

Video Editor: Vishal Kumar

Amid growing disquiet over the contents of a draft bill on the subject of data privacy, several corporations have voiced their concerns about “dangerous provisions” of the Personal Data Protection Bill (2019) that was referred to a 30-member Joint Committee of the parliament on Wednesday, 11 December.

Although the draft bill prevents the collection of personal data without the “explicit consent” or permission of individuals, it also exempts government agencies from the proposed law.

This means that government agencies will not have to obtain consent for data collection/processing and provide redressal, if it is undertaken for reasonable purposes, like prevention and detection of unlawful activity, among other purposes.

Address Dangerous Provisions: Mozilla

In statement, Mozilla said the draft bill a “step backwards in terms of processing and surveillance by the government.” It said,

“Exceptions for government use of data, the verification of social media users, and the forced transfer of non-personal data all represent new, significant threats to Indians’ privacy. If Indians are to be truly protected, it is urgent that the Parliament reviews and addresses these dangerous provisions before they become law.”

Select Committee an Easy Escape?

However, the government’s decision to refer the draft bill to a joint committee, instead of a standing committee wasn’t seen as favourable by cyber-security expert Raman Chima.

Today Ravi Shankar Prasad's ministry- & the Union Government - revealed how insecure & afraid they are. Rather than letting a standing committee chaired by an opposition MP independently studying & issueing a [non-binding] report, preferred rubberstamping it to a select committee

— Raman Chima (@tame_wildcard) December 11, 2019

Palatable Than Before, But Needs Explanation

According to Sagar Associates, Advocates & Solicitors, while the draft bill addresses concerns raised by multinationals, it also comes with “interesting” provisions for intermediaries and platforms, the guiding thought behind which needs to be explained in detail by the government.

“While flexibility has been introduced another issue of criminal liability has been tempered down with a further exception. What is definitely interesting are some new provisions relating to intermediaries and platforms. It will be relevant to understand the thinking of the government behind certain exceptions to personal data processing which were not there in the earlier drafts. Overall, the Data Protection Bill does seem more palatable from an industry perspective than earlier proposals,” said Sajai Singh, Partner, J Sagar Associates, Advocates & Solicitors.

Negative Message to Global Investors?

While the government’s list of exemptions to the bill have raised eyebrows, another specific provision that allows the government to collect data from private fiduciaries may discourage global investors.

According to Kazim Rizvi, Founding Director of The Dialogue, an independent policy think tank, “insights derived from personal data is defined as personal data, which basically means that state can access all forms of insights from companies. This means that intellectual property of data fiduciaries may be sought by the government, which will send a negative message to the global investor community.”

“Why would an investor invest in Indian tech startups knowing that the government can any day ask for insights that can kill their business models,” he asks, while adding that the provisions could impact job growth and employment opportunities in India.