The government didn't commit to a timeline on when it would introduce the revised Personal Data Protection Bill in Parliament. "Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has introduced the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 in parliament during the winter session of 2019. The Bill has been referred to a joint committee of the Parliament," the government said in two separate responses to queries on data privacy on March 17, through Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Sanjay Dhotre. The statement was in response to queries by BJP MPs Manoj Kotak and Pragya Singh Thakur. This comes amid speculation that the current session of parliament may be adjourned as parties gear up to campaign for the state elections starting April. That could mean that the bill could be delayed to the next session of parliament, after being caught up in consultations and committee procedures for years. Full questions and answers (March 17) SADHVI PRAGYA SINGH THAKUR: Will the Minister of Electronics & Information Technology be pleased to state : (a) whether the Government has formulated any privacy policy for social media; (b) if so, the details thereof; (c) whether the Government proposes to formulate any privacy policy for social media platforms like WhatsApp; and (d) if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI SANJAY DHOTRE) (a) to (d): Social media platforms are body corporate in the context of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000. Section 43A of the Act and the Information…
