The Indian Government on Wednesday, August 3, 2022, surprisingly retracted the much spoken Data Protection Bill from Parliament, which was alarming news for the tech giants like Facebook and Google.
Data Protection Bill Retracted From The Parliament
While retracting the bill, the Government said, it “will come out with a set of fresh legislations that will fit into the comprehensive legal framework.
“The government will bring a set of new legislation for a comprehensive legal framework for the digital economy”, said IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
“We have started the drafting of the new bill, which is in well-advanced stages,” asserted the IT Minister while mentioning that bill release was “very close”.
“Personal Data Protection Bill has been withdrawn because the JCP recommended 81 amendments in a bill of 99 sections. Above that, it made 12 major recommendations.
Therefore the bill has been withdrawn and a new bill will be presented for public consultation.”
What Was The Data Protection Bill?
In December 2019, the Data Protection Bill was introduced in Parliament which asserted the rules and regulations on how the personal data of the consumers should be stored and used. It asserts people’s rights related to their personal information. This bill was about creating a protective layer to prevent any damage to the digital privacy of an individual.
“The Bill was first drafted by an expert committee headed by Justice BN Srikrishna in 2018. The central government introduced a draft of the Bill in 2019 in the Lok Sabha, which was referred to the Joint Parliamentary Committee in December 2021 and was later tabled in Parliament after six extensions,” as per Zee News.
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Why The Bill Retracted?
“Considering the report of the JCP, a comprehensive legal framework is being worked upon. Hence, in the circumstances, it is proposed to withdraw ‘The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019’ and present a new bill that fits into the comprehensive legal framework,” said the statement from the Government.
Bill was “criticised by privacy experts as it was seen as being more in favour of the government rather than protecting privacy, which the Supreme Court held as a fundamental right in 2017.”
