hometechnology NewsRTI activist Anjali Bhardwaj denounces Digital Data Protection Bill as an assault on fundamental rights
RTI activist Anjali Bhardwaj denounces Digital Data Protection Bill as an assault on fundamental rights
The Digital Data Protection Bill passed by the Lok Sabha has stirred concerns among activists and experts who believe it poses a threat to people's freedom of speech and expression. The Editors Guild of India has also raised red flags, stating that the bill could have a chilling effect on press freedom, as it introduces a framework that enables the surveillance of citizens and journalists.
The Digital Data Protection Bill passed by the Lok Sabha on August 7, 2023, has stirred concerns among activists and experts who believe it poses a threat to people's freedom of speech and expression. During the passing of the bill, opposition members engaged in sloganeering while attempting to propose amendments, which were ultimately defeated in the voice vote.
Anjali Bhardwaj, an RTI activist, is among those who view the bill as a direct attack on fundamental rights.
In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Anjali Bhardwaj expressed apprehensions that the central government could potentially misuse the provisions of the bill to exempt its own departments and favored large corporations from adhering to the law.
"The Digital Data Protection Bill is a direct attack on people's freedom to speech and expression. The RTI Act, which was passed in 2005, was a careful balancing of people's right to information with their right to privacy. This bill is expanding the scope of the exemption under Section 8(1) J. The government is replacing the very nuanced provision of Section 8(1) J by saying that all personal information will be exempt under the RTI law."
"According to the bill, anyone who collects, uses or processes personal data will be now called a data fiduciary. So, small campaigns, NGOs, political parties, RWAs, and everyone who collects personal data will be called data fiduciaries and there are a whole host of obligations that they will have to meet. And here the catch is that the government will decide who will be exempt from being called a data fiduciary. So, the central government could potentially misuse this provision and exempt its own departments from under the law, big companies that favour the ruling party could be left out of the ambit of the law," Bhardwaj added.
The Editors Guild of India has also raised red flags, stating that the bill could have a chilling effect on press freedom, as it introduces a framework that enables the surveillance of citizens and journalists. According to the guild, the bill grants the government the power to expand its existing censorship authority, allowing content to be censored on vague and unspecified grounds.
Apar Gupta, the Founder of the Internet Freedom Foundation, further criticised the bill, asserting that it is incompatible with the constitutional framework. He highlighted concerns about the independence of the data protection board, stating that the remedy process appears to be flawed and lacking true independence.
"This is not a data protection bill; it is actually a bill that is incompatible with our constitutional framework. Through an act of parliament, they are reinforcing a status quo wherein the government gets to decide how this law applies to itself as well as private bodies. At the same time, it also completely destroys the RTI Act. If you look at Chapter 2, some kind of protections are being given. As the ministers have been stating that this is a law that will give you protection over your personal data as companies gather it," Gupta said.
"However, if you look at Clause 70, the biggest amount of data gathering is today done by the government. It can notify any government entity for exemption and subsequent to that it can also notify any private sector individual entity, class of entities as well as startups. So, every company can notify. All of this is being done directly by the ministry rather than through a regulatory body that does not even exist under this law. Now if your data is breached, the remedy process is broken, there is a data protection board, but it doesn't have presumed independence when you look at the fine print of the law and you have to exhaust an appeal first with the data fiduciary which has gathered your data," he added.
The bill was initially introduced in Parliament on December 11, 2019, with the intention of ensuring the protection of private data belonging to individuals across the country. The bill outlines stringent provisions regarding data protection, data sharing, and data storage.
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Watch the video for the entire discussion.
First Published: Aug 7, 2023 10:38 PM IST
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