Explained | Does data protection Bill have safeguards on privacy?

The Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Personal Data Protection Bill submitted its report on November 22. The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, stems from the 2017 judgment of the Supreme Court in the Puttaswamy vs.Union of India case that recognised privacy as a fundamental right protected by the Constitution. The committee, which had been deliberating on the Bill since it was introduced in Parliament in 2019, has made several recommendations for modifying the draft. However, it steered clear of the main sticky points such as government access to private data, leading to dissent notes from panel members from the Opposition. (Read More)