Rajya Sabha approves Digital Personal Data Protection Bill

The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2023 with a voice vote following a walkout by the members over the Manipur issue.
The Lok Sabha passed the bill on Monday.
The bill, which comes after six years of the Supreme Court declaring “Right to Privacy” as a fundamental right, has provisions to curb the misuse of individuals’ data by online platforms.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the bill lays down obligations on private and government entities around the collection and processing of citizen data.
The bill seeks to protect the privacy of Indian citizens while proposing a penalty of up to Rs 250 crore on entities for misusing or failing to protect the digital data of individuals.
Moving the bill for consideration and passage in the Upper House of Parliament, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “It would have been good had we discussed the bill today (in the House).
But no leader or member is concerned over the rights of the citizens.”
He said the bill has been introduced after extensive public consultation.
Underscoring the salient features of the bill, the minister said its language is so simple that even a common person can understand it.
Referring to certain principles on which the bill is based, Vaishnaw said that according to the principle of legality, data about a person has to be taken based on prevailing laws and cannot be used for purposes beyond those for which it has been collected.