UPDATE: The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MEITY) has announced that it has finalized the data protection bill.
While it’s a step forward in many ways, the bill urgently needs edits to effectively uphold our privacy.
You can read more on the good and bad aspects of the bill on this page, and learn more about how we got here below.
Why is it important for you care about the bill?
- So that you don’t have to blindly accept the complex & tedious ‘terms and conditions’. Instead, you can demand meaningful consent: clear, simple options,including the option to opt out.
- So that we have limits on what companies and the government can do with your data - what they collect, what they use it for, how they keep it safe.
- So that there is a regulator you can complain to, and that can investigate and fine companies or the government if they put our data and privacy at risk.
What next?
MEITY has finalized the draft data protection bill. Following Cabinet clearance, the bill could be introduced and passed in Parliament any time in June and as soon as next week! We are demanding that this Bill be sent to the Standing Committee of MPs for a thorough review.
It is crucial that an important legislation, such as this, is strengthened by inputs from non-governmental experts, civil society and the broader public through a public consultation.