The opposition MPs in the Standing Committee on Information Technology (IT) have suggested close to 40 amendments to the draft Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill, 2022. The concerns raised include centralisation of power, lack of independence of the Data Protection Board, blanket exemptions to some data fiduciaries, and exceptions provided to the government in the draft Bill. The MPs, including Karti Chidambaram, Jawahar Sircar, and John Brittas, plan to raise these issues in the next meeting of the committee.
A major concern of the standing committee members is the lack of independence of the Data Protection Board, which many industry experts have also raised concerns about in the past. Brittas also noted that the draft Bill does not uphold the 2017 Right to Privacy verdict of the Supreme Court, which protects privacy as a fundamental right under the Constitution. The opposition MPs have raised concerns about the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill, 2022 and proposed almost 40 amendments to the draft Bill. They have expressed worries about the centralisation of power, lack of independence of the Data Protection Board, blanket exemptions to some data fiduciaries, and exceptions provided to the government in the draft Bill.
The MPs have also highlighted issues with the deemed consent clause, access to personal data of patients, and the impact of the Bill on the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The MPs plan to raise these concerns in the next meeting of the committee. There is currently no clarity on the timeline for when the draft Bill will be introduced in Parliament, as it was supposed to be introduced in the second half of the Budget session.