{"id":45131,"date":"2025-02-27T08:14:23","date_gmt":"2025-02-27T02:44:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=45131"},"modified":"2025-05-06T17:33:20","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T12:03:20","slug":"pwds-raise-concerns-over-dpdp-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/pwds-raise-concerns-over-dpdp-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"PwDs Raise Concerns Over DPDP Rules: Impact on Digital Rights and Autonomy"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What\u2019s in Today\u2019s Article?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Digital Personal Data Protection Act Latest News<\/li>\n<li>Introduction<\/li>\n<li>Understanding the Controversial Provision \u2013 Section 9(1)<\/li>\n<li>Reasons Behind PwDs and Activists Concerns<\/li>\n<li>Risk to Digital Rights of PwDs<\/li>\n<li>Government&#8217;s Response and the Way Forward<\/li>\n<li>Conclusion<\/li>\n<li>DPDP Act\u2019s Impact on PwDs FAQs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Digital Personal Data Protection Act Latest News<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is looking to wrap up public consultations on the draft Rules for the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 by March 5.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Introduction<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)<\/strong> is finalizing public consultations on the <strong>Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023<\/strong> and its draft rules.<\/li>\n<li>However, disability rights activists have raised <strong>serious concerns<\/strong> over a specific provision in <strong>Section 9(1)<\/strong>, which <strong>clubs adult Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) with children<\/strong> and mandates that their <strong>legal guardians provide consent<\/strong> for any digital personal data processing.<\/li>\n<li>Activists argue that this <strong>undermines the autonomy<\/strong> of PwDs and reflects <strong>a flawed understanding of guardianship laws<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Understanding the Controversial Provision \u2013 Section 9(1)<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The DPDP Act requires <strong>data fiduciaries (organizations processing data)<\/strong> to obtain <strong>verifiable consent from a parent or legal guardian<\/strong> before processing personal data of a <strong>child or a PwD with a lawful guardian<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>definition of PwDs<\/strong> in this provision <strong>lumps all individuals with disabilities together<\/strong>, assuming that those with guardians are <strong>incapable of making legally binding decisions<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>draft rules<\/strong> under <strong>Rule 10(2)<\/strong> require verification that the guardian was <strong>appointed by a court or designated authority<\/strong> under Indian guardianship laws.<\/li>\n<li>While the rule provides <strong>detailed explanations for child consent<\/strong>, it <strong>lacks clarity on how guardianship-based consent would apply to PwDs<\/strong>, leading to confusion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Reasons Behind PwDs and Activists Concerns<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Undermining Autonomy of PwDs<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The provision assumes that <strong>all PwDs with guardians lack decision-making abilities<\/strong>, ignoring the <strong>Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act, 2016<\/strong>, which <strong>promotes supported decision-making instead of absolute guardianship<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Many PwDs function independently with <strong>limited legal support<\/strong> but may still have a legal guardian for specific purposes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Legal Confusion Between RPWD Act and NT Act<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>PwDs are governed by two laws:\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>RPWD Act, 2016<\/strong> provides for <strong>limited guardianship<\/strong>, allowing the PwD to <strong>exercise rights with support<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>National Trust (NT) Act, 1999<\/strong> allows <strong>full guardianship<\/strong> for individuals with <strong>autism, cerebral palsy, or intellectual disabilities<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>However, the DPDP Act <strong>does not differentiate between these categories<\/strong>, applying a <strong>blanket rule<\/strong> for all PwDs with guardians.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Practical Challenges in Implementation<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>There is <strong>no clear guideline<\/strong> on how digital platforms should obtain <strong>guardian consent for PwDs<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>If a guardian refuses consent, the PwD may <strong>lose access to essential services<\/strong>, such as <strong>online banking, e-commerce, or healthcare platforms<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Activists highlight <strong>gender-based discrimination<\/strong>, where <strong>women with disabilities may be denied access to digital platforms<\/strong> without guardian approval.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Risk to Digital Rights of PwDs<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Disability rights groups argue that the DPDP Act <strong>compromises digital rights<\/strong> by making <strong>guardian consent mandatory for accessing online services<\/strong>. This could lead to:\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Exclusion from digital platforms<\/strong> like <strong>banking, government schemes, e-commerce, and education portals<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Increased control of guardians over PwDs\u2019 choices<\/strong>, restricting their ability to make personal decisions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Legal ambiguity for guardians<\/strong>, who may face <strong>penalties<\/strong> under the DPDP Act if their consent leads to <strong>data misuse<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>A <strong>survey by PACTA and Saksham Disability<\/strong> found that <strong>27.4% of PwDs had legal guardians<\/strong>, yet most of them <strong>managed their affairs independently<\/strong>, contradicting the assumptions made by the DPDP Act.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Government&#8217;s Response and The Way Forward<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The government argues that <strong>limiting the definition of PwDs covered under Section 9(1)<\/strong> helps address concerns.<\/li>\n<li>However, disability activists argue that this <strong>further complicates the issue<\/strong> by adding <strong>unclear definitions<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Recommended changes by disability rights groups include:\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Amending Section 9(1) to align with the RPWD Act, 2016<\/strong>, ensuring PwDs have <strong>decision-making autonomy<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Providing clear guidelines<\/strong> on how data fiduciaries should handle <strong>guardian-based consent for PwDs<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ensuring that digital accessibility barriers are addressed<\/strong>, as many platforms are still not user-friendly for PwDs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The DPDP Act, 2023, aims to <strong>regulate digital personal data<\/strong> while protecting user rights.<\/li>\n<li>However, its <strong>rigid guardianship rules<\/strong> threaten the <strong>digital autonomy of PwDs<\/strong>, potentially excluding them from <strong>online services and decision-making processes<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>A <strong>balanced approach<\/strong>, incorporating <strong>input from disability rights groups<\/strong>, is necessary to ensure <strong>data protection laws<\/strong> do not inadvertently <strong>violate the rights of PwDs<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>DPDP Act\u2019s Impact on PwDs FAQs<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Q1.<\/strong> What is the main concern of PwDs regarding the DPDP Act?<br \/>\n<strong>Ans.<\/strong> The DPDP Act requires guardian consent for PwDs before processing their digital data, restricting their autonomy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q2.<\/strong> How does the DPDP Act define legal guardianship for PwDs?<br \/>\n<strong>Ans.<\/strong> It does not differentiate between full guardianship (NT Act) and limited guardianship (RPWD Act), leading to legal confusion.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q3. <\/strong>Why is Section 9(1) controversial?<br \/>\nAns. Section 9(1) treats PwDs the same as children, assuming they cannot make independent digital decisions if they have a legal guardian.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q4.<\/strong> How does the DPDP Act impact the digital accessibility of PwDs?<br \/>\n<strong>Ans.<\/strong> PwDs may lose access to online banking, e-commerce, and essential services if their guardian refuses consent.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q5. <\/strong>What changes are disability rights groups demanding?<br \/>\n<strong>Ans.<\/strong> They want the DPDP Act to align with the RPWD Act, ensuring autonomy for PwDs and clearer implementation guidelines.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/why-are-pwds-worried-about-dpdp-rules-explained\/article69266425.ece#:~:text=With%20the%20Ministry%20of,pointing%20out%20that%20it%20infantilises\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TH<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Disability rights activists oppose a provision in the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, raising concerns about its impact on the autonomy of Persons with Disabilities<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":45132,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-45131","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45131\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}