New Data Protection Bill Ready, To Be Introduced During Monsoon Session: Centre Tells SC

The Bill is expected to have far-reaching implications for the tech industry, particularly social media companies.

New Data Protection Bill To Be Introduced In Parliament [Image used for representational purpose only]

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The Centre on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that the new data protection bill is ready, and will be introduced during the Monsoon session of Parliament. The Constitution Bench headed by Justice KM Joseph has taken note of Attorney General R Venkatramani's statement that a pending bill is ready for consideration. The bench, which also comprises justices Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy, and C T Ravikumar, directed that the matter be placed before Chief Justice DY Chandrachud to constitute a new bench as Justice Joseph is set to retire on June 16.

The matter pertains to a pending bill, the details of which were not provided. However, senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that the court should not link the court hearings to the legislative process as the legislative process is complex and may require referral to committees.

The matter has been posted for hearing in the first week of August 2023.

New data protection bill is ready, will be introduced during Monsoon session of Parliament: Centre tells SC

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 11, 2023

 

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has completed work on the Digital Data Protection Bill, 2022 and plans to introduce the proposed legislation in the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament.

The IT Ministry had planned to introduce the Bill during the Budget session of Parliament, but disruptions in the House prevented them from doing so. The official added that the Department of Legal Affairs prescribed some changes to the draft law, which have been incorporated by the Ministry and the Bill will now head for Cabinet approval in the coming days, a senior government official told Indian Express.

The Digital Data Protection Bill, 2022 aims to safeguard the personal and sensitive data of Indian citizens and to establish a framework for the processing of such data. The proposed law is expected to provide individuals with greater control over their data, require businesses to obtain consent for data collection and processing, and introduce penalties for violations.

The Bill is expected to have far-reaching implications for the tech industry, particularly social media companies that rely on user data for targeted advertising.