Digital Personal Data Protection Rules Draft To Be Open For Public Consultation Within Next Month: IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

The Centre is expected to allow a consultation period of at least 60 days, extending beyond the minimum requirement of 45 days, to ensure thorough public feedback on the draft rules.

The Government has also addressed the issue of processing consent for children's data, which has been a major point of contention in discussions about the new rules.

Source : PTI

The draft rules for implementing the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, will be open for public consultation within the next month, according to a statement by IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday. As reported by the Hindustan Times, Vaishnaw announced that the digital infrastructure supporting the new data protection framework has been fully developed. This includes designing and operating the Data Protection Board, which will manage cases, applications, and appeals in a fully digital environment.

"The entire digital framework has been completed," Vaishnaw stated. "Its design, how the workflow will happen, how people will interact, how the Data Protection Board will take the cases, and take the applications, and take the appeals, how they will decide — we have prepared a digital structure for all of it."

The Government is expected to allow a consultation period of at least 60 days, extending beyond the minimum requirement of 45 days, to ensure thorough public feedback on the draft rules.

What Does Digital Personal Data Protection Act Mandate?

The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, which was signed into law in August 2023, mandates the creation of a Data Protection Board to address personal data breaches in a "digital by design" manner. Additionally, the act establishes an appellate tribunal, also fully digital, to handle appeals if complaints are not adequately resolved by the Board.

In June, Vaishnaw mentioned that the digital platform for the Data Protection Board was being developed in parallel with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), with the National Informatics Centre and Digital India Corporation leading the project. On Monday, he confirmed that the platform is currently undergoing testing and will be launched after the rules have been finalised.

Funding for the Data Protection Board has already been allocated, with Rs 2 crore set aside by MeitY for establishment and salary expenses for the fiscal year 2025. This budget is expected to increase as the act is fully implemented.

Consent For Children's Data To Be Up For Public Consultation

The Government has also addressed the issue of processing consent for children's data, which has been a major point of contention in discussions about the new rules. Details on how this will be managed will be disclosed when the draft is made available for public consultation.

In related news, reports from July indicated that the Government may not mandate a specific mechanism for data fiduciaries to verify parental consent for minors using digital services, acknowledging the technical challenges involved in such verification.