'State data boards will lead to fights over jurisdiction'

State-level data protection boards will not figure in the rules of the digital personal data protection (DPDP) bill as the difference in jurisdictions will pose a challenge to execution of the law, said Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union minister for railways, telecom and IT.

- Gulveen Aulakh

In an interview, the minister added that the government will state and itemize instances that comprise fair and reasonable terms for apps to take consent from users under the law. Edited excerpts:

Some MPs referred to centralization of power in the law. How do you respond to the criticism?

The Constitution has clearly said where the laws will be made and who will make the laws. Under List 1, the central government has the power to make laws. The legal structure regarding internet and digital economy has to be done by the central government as part of the List 1, Schedule 7 of the Constitution. Where is the question of centralizing? The law has to be made by the central government only in this case. Then, implementation can be done in a variety of ways and here, we have created a totally democratized way of implementing. With the digital by design access to justice, the use of 22 languages, the ability to understand, and with the fair and reasonable consent form, where they don’t give big legalese, where it’s properly itemized for selecting information—these things actually cut out the big barriers between a citizen who seeks justice to the body that will provide justice. It’s actually significant decentralization. 

To that point, is there no merit in having state-level data protection boards?

Data or digital economy doesn’t follow physical boundaries, a jurisdiction. Having separate state data protection boards will basically mean a fight over jurisdiction, whereas having a democratized way of digital implementation, where total decentralization will happen, in that way, the philosophy of democratizing technology gets implemented, and citizens living in different parts of the country get equal access to justice.