Data regulation: a comparative analysis of Indian data protection bill and GDPR

Abstract

Given the increasing number of activities, be it social or financial, moving towards the online mode, it becomes important to recognise the importance of ‘privacy’ and work towards developing a strong, resilient and transparent ‘data protection’ framework. Also, with the relevant of Industrial Revolution 4.0, which relies heavily on technology-based solutions, be it Internet of Things (loT), Artificial Intelligence, Big Data among others, data has gained central role in the business scheme of things. It is in this light that legislations become the key in order to better this domain. “General Data Protection Regulation’ (GDPR) was adopted by EU (28 member states) and came into effect in 2018. It is considered as one of the toughest privacy laws in the world and has served as a standard for other nations to emulate, who are in the process of framing their very own domestic policies. After the impetus gained from the landmark ‘Puttaswamy judgement’, union government of India setup Justice Srikrishna committee in 2017 conceptualise data protection framework along with a draft bill. Consequently, the ‘Personal Data Protection’ Bill was tabled in the Parliament. It was a pioneering step in this direction of protecting personal data while also unlocking the data economy. Due to the drawbacks highlighted by subject experts and other stakeholders in the bill, a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) was setup to suggest changes. It came up with its own report and cited certain modifications to the proposed legislation. It is high time that India comes up with a robust and timeless regulation after widespread deliberations with all active stakeholders. The implementation of the legislation will hold the key in determining India’s role as global leader in privacy regulation and data protection.