Personal data bill not enough to protect citizens' rights: Advocacy group

Legislation that Parliament's Winter Session will take up next week wades into areas beyond ambit given to it, say experts.

A proposed legislation does not prioritise the rights of Indians over their data in the public and has instead expanded to areas beyond its ambit and without sufficient consultation, senior executives at digital rights organisation Access Now have said.

The Personal Data Protection (PDP) legislation--in the making since 2018—will be tabled in Parliament’s Winter Session beginning Monday. Reports and dissent notes filed by the members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) deliberating the Bill suggest several changes from its initial draft in 2019. Social media seems to have been included in the legislation.

“Based on the reports so far and the details