How India’s proposed data privacy bill compares with protection laws across the world

India’s draft of the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018, provides for regulations of users’ personal data that is collected by various third parties, including the state.

India moved closer to its first data privacy law on Friday after a committee, headed by former Supreme Court judge BN Srikrishna, proposed a draft Personal Data Protection Bill.

In a digital economy abounding with platforms such as Facebook, Google and widening use of the Internet, privacy and security of people’s data have become a key public concern and a defining public policy debate. (AFP Photo)

The draft bill provides for the formation of a Data Protection Authority of India to protect citizens’ data and privacy — a growing concern in an increasingly digitising economy.

The proposed bill makes individual consent the centrepiece of data sharing, awards rights to users, imposes obligations on “data fiduciaries”— all those entities, including the State, which determine purpose and means of data processing.

It also lays out provisions on data storage, making it mandatory for a copy of personal data to be stored in India, and called for amendments to other laws, including the Right to Information. Though the bill does not mention it directly, the report also suggests changes to the Aadhaar Act.

In essence, the Data Protection Authority will function as India’s privacy regulator.

Here is a look at how other countries have approached the data privacy issue: