India proposes new rules to access its citizens’ data
0Reported today on TechCrunch
For the full article visit: https://techcrunch.com/2019/12/10/india-personal-data-protection-bill-2019/
India proposes new rules to access its citizens' data
India has proposed groundbreaking new rules that would require companies to garner consent from citizens in the country before collecting and processing their personal data. But at the same time, the new rules also state that companies would have to hand over "non-personal" data of their users to the government, and New Delhi would also hold the power to collect any data of its citizens without consent, thereby bypassing the laws applicable to everyone else, to serve sovereignty and larger public interest.
The new rules, proposed in "Personal Data Protection Bill 2019," a copy of which leaked on Tuesday, would permit New Delhi to "exempt any agency of government from application of Act in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order."
If the bill passes - and it is expected to be discussed in the parliament in the coming weeks - select controversial laws drafted more than a decade ago would remain unchanged.
Another proposed rule would grant New Delhi the power to ask any "data fiduciary or data processor" to hand over "anonymized" "non-personal data" for the purpose of better governance, among others.
New Delhi's new bill - which was passed by the Union Cabinet last week, but has yet to be formally shared with the public - could create new challenges for Google, Facebook, Twitter, ByteDance's TikTok and other companies that are already facing some regulatory heat in the nation.
India conceptualized this bill two years ago and in the years since, it has undergone significant changes. A draft of the bill, which was formally made public last year, had stated that the Indian government must not hav