DATA PROTECTION AND PRIVACY LAWS CURRENTLY IN INDIA WITH CONTRAST TO EUROPE

Abstract

Data protection is the process of safeguarding important information from corruption, compromise or loss. It covers three broad categories: traditional data protection, data security, and data privacy. Data privacy defines who has access to data, while data protection provides tools and policies to restrict access. The Personal Data Protection Bill is a controversial draft law that aims to implement similar provisions as the General Data Protection Regulation into data protection law in India. The PDP Bill has been referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for further debate and examination which lays down various recommendations and modifications to the report. This paper analyses how India lacks a stand-alone data protection law. Even though the Information Technology (IT) Act of 2000 governs the use of personal data, this has been found to be insufficient for ensuring its protection. A Committee of Experts on Data Protection was established in 2017 to look into matters pertaining to data protection in the nation. The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 was presented in Lok Sabha in December 2019 and withdrawn from Parliament in August 2022. The Draft Digital Private Data Protection Law, 2022 was released by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in November 2022 for public comment. These amendments need to be done to protect people from fraud and ensure fair and justice for the people.