Daily Current Affairs for 06 July 2023

• Usage of personal data by organisations must be done in a manner that is lawful, fair to the individuals concerned and transparent to individuals.

Key recommendations:

• Remove the word ‘personal’ from the existing title of ‘Personal Data Protection Bill’. This is intended to reflect that the bill, in order to better ensure privacy, will also be dealing with non-personal data, such as personal data that has been anonymised.
• Amend the section restricting the transfer of personal data outside India to say “sensitive personal data shall not be shared with any foreign government or agency unless such sharing is approved by the central government.
• No social media platform be allowed to operate in India unless its parent company, which controls the technology powering its services, sets up an office in the country.
• It proposes a separate regulatory body to be set up to regulate the media.
• Jail term of up to 3 years, fine of Rs 2 lakh or both if de-identified data is re-identified by any person.
• The word ‘personal’ ought to be dropped from the name of the Bill.
• Central government may exempt any government agency from the legislation only under exceptional circumstances.
• The new bill seeks to establish a Data Protection Board (DPB) with the purpose to adjudicate on the matter of data protection.  
• It also seeks to establish Data Protection Officers or independent data auditors by companies of large size with the objective to verify the compliance of the law by the institutions concerned