A graded approach to protecting children's data, more clarity on the implementation timeline, reintroduction of some critical user rights, expansion of the definition of harm, and limiting government powers are some of the many expectations that the Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) appears to have in its first impressions of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill, 2022 [Bill, summary, guide]. The DPDP Bill was released for public consultation on November 18 and the IT Ministry has invited feedback from the public on the Bill by December 17, 2022. The feedback may be submitted on the MyGov website. What are the main issues with the Bill according to SFLC? Need a graded approach to protecting children's data: "The present Bill requires parental consent for obtaining the personal data of children. It has been observed that there is a need to have a graded approach towards the consent framework of children. There is a need to provide agency to children over different types of data at different ages to ensure their right to privacy and dignity are protected," SFLC stated. "Sub-section 10(4) does provide for an exemption of parental requirement under circumstances as may be prescribed, it is hoped that the graded approach may be adopted in the Rules," SFLC added. A watered-down definition of harm: SLFC pointed out that the Bill narrows down the scope of harm that it protects citizens from. "For example, the Bill does not mention unreasonable surveillance as a harm, a definition which was available in the previous Bill.…
