‘Will work with industry on DPDP law’

The government will consult the industry before implementing the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) bill to ensure a smooth rollout roadmap, minister of state for electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said.

In an interview, Chandrasekhar said the government is open to the industry’s suggestion for an extended time frame but stressed that the new law will curb the exploitation of user data and make it costly for those who violate rules. Edited excerpts:

What is the future of this bill going forward as an Act now that it will be applicable to everyone, from startups to Big Tech?

This is an important fundamental law that has been put into place, and there will be a few more things that we will do down the road very quickly that will complete the global standards cyber law framework for this trillion-dollar digital economy, which is our goal. The law is going to do two things. One, it is going to put a firm, decisive, unambiguous break on the practice of misuse and exploitation of personal digital personal data, which has been going on for some time and isn’t being done by some people in an organized manner. Two, it will result in a deep behavioural change in the relationship between platforms and the digital nagriks—individuals or businesses that deal with the platforms that are Indian—on how that data is taken and processed.

There are a number of obligations that are now placed by law on every platform that deals with the personal data of an individual or business, as the case may be, which are now codified as part of the law, including the most important obligation of not reaching that data or allowing anybody unauthorized access.

How will you proceed with the rules and regulations under the Act?

There is clearly a need for the industry to transition from the current framework to this new framework that the law represents. We want it to be orderly. We don’t want it to be abrupt. We certainly don’t want it to be disruptive. So, we will certainly look at giving some transition period for the industry to move to this framework, prepare for it, and be ready to comply with the new obligations.

What if citizens want it to be done with urgency?

If the industry turns around and says we want X number of years or say, many months, we will sit down and basically work with them on what is the quickest and swiftest, and best way to transition in an orderly manner to this new framework. But we certainly work with the industry to make sure the transition is not painful and that it is not disruptive. We want it to be orderly.

What kind of messaging will go out to the common user?

The message is very simple and clear, that there is a new data protection regime in town. Citizens are at the heart of that and the right to have the data protected is at the heart of that. Every platform should realize and we will undertake to have many awareness programmes conducted with industry to make sure that they are aware that while we may give them some transition time, it is in the interest of everybody including industry, platforms, startups, and including, the citizens that we do this and adapt to this expectation of respecting the personal data of Indian citizens at the earliest. The moment the bill was passed, the signal has already gone to all the people who deal with personal data, that it is no longer business as usual, and that there is a new framework that is going to be extremely expensive for those who continue to violate the obligations under the law.