Need data protection bodies at state level for robust law: JPC member

NEW DELHI: There is a need for state-level data protection authorities (DPAs), along with a national watchdog, to ensure that the data protection law becomes more robust and implementable, according to parliamentarian Amar Patnaik of the Biju Janata Dal, who is a member of the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) looking into the draft legislation.

“I’m strongly of the view that the DPA in its current form means that there is one DPA for all of India, and every state government or institution is accountable to it,” he said in an interview with Hindustan Times. “We need state-level DPAs so as to not raise issues of federal override. This way the administration of data protection regime will become more robust and implementable. Else, it will be overwhelming for an institution to deal with all of it.”

The personal data protection committee is considering a slew of changes, including introducing psychological manipulation as a violation and stressing on the need for algorithmic fairness, HT reported over the past week. The key amendments are under consideration of the House panel, which aims to table its report in the winter session of Parliament. The JPC was set up in 2019 to look into the provisions of the bill and has since sought several extensions, the latest one after chairperson Meenakshi Lekhi had to step down as she was elevated to the post of a Union minister.

Patnaik stressed that while the proceedings of the committee were confidential, concerns about various aspects of the bill have been discussed like the “concerns regarding the heavy compliance cost and “that it will be a consent-based framework”.