Privacy a fundamental right: panel on data protection

A high-level panel on data protection law headed by Justice B N Srikrishna said on Friday that privacy is a fundamental right and suggested the government safeguard personal information.

The former Supreme Court judge-headed panel — which also presented a report and a draft law 'The Personal Data Protection Bill 2018' to Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad — recommended that all critical data be stored and processed in India. It also recommended imposition of hefty penalty for violation of law.

The panel, which suggested an amendment to the Aadhaar Act to bolster privacy protections, also said that the proposed law overrides all other notifications and regulations on data storage.

The draft law, which touched upon a variety of issues including the rights of children, will go through the process of inter-ministerial consultations and Cabinet as well as parliamentary approval, said the minister.

The government had constituted the 10-member committee in July 2017 to recommend a framework for securing personal data and address privacy concerns.

Personal data determined to be critical should be processed only in India. The Central government should determine the categories of sensitive personal data which are critical to the nation, the panel said.

The draft law also prohibits cross-border transfer of such data and favoured constituting a data protection authority.

“The right to privacy is a fundamental right and it is necessary to protect personal data as an essential facet of informational privacy,” the draft law said.

The bill suggested "explicit consent" for processing "sensitive personal information" like religious or political belief, sexual orientation and biometric information.

Steep penalty

The draft provides for a penalty of Rs 15 crore or 4% of the total worldwide turnover of any data collection entity, including the state, for violation of personal data processing provisions. Failure to take prompt action on a data security breach can attract up to Rs 5 crore or 2% of turnover, whichever is higher, as a penalty.