The report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Personal Data Protection (PDP) Bill was tabled in both Houses of Parliament on December 16, bringing us one step closer to India’s first data protection law. Among its recommendations, the JPC has suggested keeping the minimum age of consent at 18, bringing governance of non-personal data within its ambit, etc. However, the report has also led to seven dissent notes being filed and objections from industry bodies like the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). Lok Sabha MP P.P. Chaudhary, chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Personal Data Protection Bill 2019, spoke to MediaNama in a wide-ranging interview on various provisions of his committee's recommendations to the Bill. Here are the excerpts of that conversation. On Children's Data MediaNama: One thing that is new in the report, is that the age of consent has been increased to 18. With the amount of digitisation we're seeing, and young people are coming on to the internet now more than ever, especially when we look at above the age of 14, then wouldn't it lead to a sort of disenfranchisement if they have to go back to their parents on how they use, explore the internet, how their data is collected? P.P. Chaudhary: "Because now, during this digital age, so many things are to be found on the various type of websites that are there. So we have not changed the age, that bill, which was introduced in the…
