Protecting digital rights an obligation of government: Minister

Dubai: Asserting that India did not have to follow any other country or global practice for its policy-making on the future of the internet, Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said that over 820 million internet users deserve to have their own way to decide what kind of internet they want.

“European GDPR is considered a gold standard for privacy and data protection. But we would like to disagree. With more than 820 million internet users, we have the largest presence on the global internet and deserve an opportunity to shape our own destiny. We will chart our own course and build a framework suitable for us,” Chandrasekhar said in Dubai.

Speaking about the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill that is now open for consultations, the Minister said: “Protecting the digital rights of our citizens is an obligation of the government. But we do not see this as a binary at the expense of slowing down the ecosystem for innovation that exists in India and in partnerships with other countries.”

He said the government would not strongly regulate the internet but is committed to the principles of an open, safe and trusted and accountable internet.

Referring to the India Stack, Chandrasekhar said: “It has removed bottlenecks and ensured transfer of governments funds to beneficiaries. The India Stack is open for other countries to adopt too. It represents an opportunity for Global South or countries that have not been able to afford the digitalisation to rapidly climb up the ladder of digitalisation.”