Blog Details

Introduction

On the 21st the technology has become an integral part of everyday work for all individuals. According to an anonymous report more than 55% of our day to day is done through technology. Earlier we used to write in pen and paper, now we type in word files, earlier we used to send letters and we send emails.

The Internet is one of the best gifts of technology. With every gift that comes to the term and with the gift of the internet, our privacy is the term.

The Bill

The Personal Data Protection Bill was introduced in 2019 as the Apex court in the case of K.S Puttaswamy v. The Union of India held that the right of privacy and personal data protection is a fundamental right as in right to life and right to liberty under article 21 of the Constitution. The bill keeps a check and provides laws to seize breaches of privacy and personal data.

Application:

The Personal Data Protection Bill will be applied at the time of processing, storing, handling and sharing the personal data which is done within the boundaries of India. It will be applied to all the citizens of India. All the Indian companies, even the foreign companies which are executing their work with the personal data of the people of India have to abide by the bill.

Data Fiduciary

The Personal Data Protection Bill introduces a Data fiduciary. According to the law, a data fiduciary can be any organisation, entity or even an individual who plans or decides how the data should be stored, processed and handled.

Restrictions on processing data

The Bill comes with certain restrictions in processing and handling data for data fiduciaries. The law allows the processing of data only for lawful purposes. While conducting the whole process of storing, processing or handling data, the data fiduciary must implement security measures. The fiduciaries are expected to take extra safety measures while processing any data which is very sensitive in nature like data of finance, politics, religious beliefs and biometric data. When the data fiduciaries are to process the personal data of any children, they are required to verify the age and take the consent of the parents.

Exception

Consent is necessary from the data principal to commence with the processing of personal data, but the bill proposed some grounds of exception where the consent of the data principal is not required at the processing of the data. The exceptions are :

• For prevention of fraud or any illegal activity

• Legal proceedings

• During a medical emergency

• For the interest and the welfare of the people

The Authority

The Bill sets up a Data Protection Authority to safeguard and prevent any wrongful or illegal act by misusing personal data. An Appellate Tribunal has been set up to hear the plea related to personal data protection and the appeals against the order of the tribunal can be heard at the Supreme Court. The personal data can be transferred outside India only if consent is given by the concerned individual.

Penalties

The bill comes with some penalties for the act that results in the contravention of the Personal Data Protection Bill and violates the right of privacy. The proposed penalties are:

• If the data fiduciary works against the laws and obligations proposed in the bill, they may be penalised with rupees up to 5 crore or 2% of the total worldwide turnover of the previous financial year, whichever is higher.

• If there is any breach of the provisions of the bill while processing any personal data, one will be penalised with Rs. 15 crores or the 4% of the annual turnover of the data fiduciary, whichever is higher.

Conclusion

Technology is a boom as well as bane for the people and it depends on the way it is used. The right to privacy is a very essential aspect of the present situation. The personal data protection bill has been proposed to prevent illegal acts done by misusing the personal data of an individual, but this is not the end. India needs more powerful and strict laws to protect the personal data of individuals and to guarantee the right to privacy.