Digital Personal Data Protection Act Will Ensure Firms Handle Data of Indians Legally: IT Minister

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, said on Thursday that the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP Act), recently passed by Parliament, will make digital companies process the data of Indian citizens under an absolute legal obligation.

Calling the law an important milestone in the cyber law framework, Chandrasekhar said harsh penalties or even blocking them from operating in India would have punitive consequences.

“The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill passed by Parliament a few days ago is a very important milestone in the global legal framework for standard cyber, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to establish a very Important milestone. Trillion dollar digital economy,” the union minister told PTI.

“The DPDP Act seeks to give Indian citizens the right to protect their data and imposes on all companies, all platforms, whether foreign or Indian, large or small, the obligation to ensure that personal data of Indian citizens is handled properly. Absolutely (law) obligation,” Chandrasekhar said.

“If they fail to comply with Indian regulations, there are punitive consequences of heavy fines and fines, and if they repeatedly violate the law, they may be blocked,” he added.

The minister claimed that the law would stop some companies from misusing and exploiting personal data.

Chandrasekhar believes the bill will bring profound behavioral changes across all digital platforms dealing with Indian citizens and their personal data.