Cyberabad Top Cop Says Data Protection Bill Will Help With Cybercrime Crackdown

HYDERABAD: The Union Cabinet’s approval of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022, on Wednesday was welcomed by various sections of society, who were jubilant that such a Bill, when made into law, would safeguard data privacy as a fundamental right, as declared by the Supreme Court.

“This Bill might play a pivotal role in elevating citizens' confidence in the digital realm, fostering secure online interactions. Also, this Bill can help organisations put data privacy and security first, and ensure it is not misused by fraudsters and criminals, which can further help reduce cybercrime,” said Cyberabad police commissioner M. Stephen Raveendra, who also heads the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau.

With a majority of cyber criminals using the personal data of individuals to target them by devising contexts, this Bill gains significance, Raveendra said, citing a recent data theft bust. “The understanding from the arrested cyber-criminal gangs across the country have shown this very evidently,” he said.

Raveendra said: “This Bill can help us in our fight against cyber criminals by increasing the cost of crime and making it difficult for them to operate. As I understand, for organisations, there must be a PoC for addressing such concerns. It will help us coordinate investigations a bit swiftly as well.”

“As there are specific provisions to protect children’s data, it would also create safer digital space for young users. Also, a redressal mechanism will be set up for citizens to raise concerns of data breaches or misuse of personal data, which can help strengthen the lapses in the current processes, as well by organisations,” said Raveendra.

Rakesh Dubbudu, the founder of Factly, a fact-checking and data journalism portal, said that some of the concerns with the previous versions of the Bill were localisation norms for data fiduciaries, exemptions to government entities, compliance burden for smaller data fiduciaries and deemed consent of data principals.

“One hopes that the new Bill has addressed these concerns,” he said.

Senior advocate and BJP leader N. Ramchander Rao said that as the country is moving towards digitisation, the protection of data of individuals and firms is essential. Since there are also reports of data thefts frequently, it becomes a violation of one’s fundamental rights as defined by the Supreme Court.

“At this juncture, the Bill gains significance. It is necessary and the need of the hour to ensure rights of individuals are protected in digital space also,” he said.