Govt withdraws Data Protection Bill after Parl panel proposes 81 amendments

The bill raised concerns among Opposition parties. They said the law would only make it easier for the government to spy on citizens, and not do any benefits.

Published on: Aug 3, 2022, 18:22:15 IST

By HT News Desk

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The information technology ministry on Wednesday withdrew the Data Protection Bill, 2021, from the Lok Sabha. The Bill was introduced on December 11, 2019, and was referred to the Joint Committee of the Houses for examination. The report of the committee was presented to the Lok Sabha on December 16, 2021.

The Bill was introduced on December 11, 2019. (HT file)

A government notice shared by Union minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar on Twitter said the decision to withdraw the bill was being taken as a parliamentary panel's review had suggested 81 amendments, Reuters reported. "This led to the need for a new comprehensive legal framework,” the notice said.

"Considering the (panel's) report ...a comprehensive legal framework is being worked upon," the government notice stated. The Indian government will now "present a new bill," it said as per news agency PTI.

The data protection bill, or the privacy bill, proposed establishing a data protection authority to safeguard the digital data of citizens. The bill, however, raised concerns among Opposition parties. They said the law would only make it easier for the government to snoop on citizens, and not do any benefits.

Tech giants such as Facebook and Twitter have also feared that the bill would create a host of technical and policy issues. If implemented, the bill will increase their compliance burden and data storage requirements, experts told Reuters.

(With inputs from agencies)

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