The draft of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 has been finalized by the government and is set to be released for public consultation in the second or third week of August once the current Parliament session concludes.
An official has stated that the government plans to ensure that the DPDP Act establishes a framework for citizens to protect their privacy without the rise of “frivolous” complaints. The official added, “Good set of responsibilities will be imposed on how a person makes a complaint.”
Another official confirmed that age and parental consent verification issues will also be addressed soon through the lined-up solutions of experts and industry stakeholders. The IT Ministry held consultations on July 19 with social media intermediaries and internet company representatives to ensure the same.
The DPDP Act provisions mandate that users below the age of 18 will be considered children, who must obtain verifiable parental consent to use social media and other internet services.
In the meeting, the use of Aadhaar, Digi-Locker, or a one-time electronic token for age-verification of users and consent confirmation was ruled as “unfeasible” on the grounds that these technologies cannot complement the fast-paced technological changes.
