11 Oct 2023 Digital India Act (DIA)
This article covers “Daily Current Affairs” and the topic details “Digital India Act ”. This topic has relevance in the Governance section of the UPSC CSE exam.
For Prelims:
About the Digital India ?
For Mains:
GS 2: Governance
Rationale for the Legislation?
Why in the news?
The recent unveiling of the Digital India Act 2023 (DIA) signifies a noteworthy stride in setting up a modern legal framework for India’s expanding digital landscape. The initiative, led by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), demonstrates a proactive stance in governing and molding the nation’s digital destiny.
Digital India Bill
The Digital India Act Bill (DIA) is a comprehensive legislative framework comprising four essential components:
- Digital Personal Data Protection Bill
- DIA Rules
- National Data Governance Policy
- Amendments to the Indian Penal Code
Rationale for the Legislation
- India, boasting 850 million internet users, stands as the world’s largest digitally connected democracy. However, the existing Information Technology Act, designed for a pre-digital era, lacks provisions to safeguard user rights, establish trust, ensure cybersecurity, and counter contemporary cyber threats.
- The surge in cybercrimes, the spread of disinformation, and concerns regarding privacy underscore the imperative need for updated legislation.
Goals of the Digital India Bill
The Digital India Bill seeks to accomplish the following objectives:
- Evolvable Digital Law: Establishing a flexible legal framework that can adapt to evolving technological trends.
- Adjudicatory Mechanism: Providing an accessible mechanism for resolving online civil and criminal offenses.
- Principles and Rules-based Approach: Developing a legislative structure based on overarching governing principles.
Key Components of the DIA
The Digital India Bill comprises several critical components:
- Open Internet: Promoting choice, competition, diversity, fair market access, and facilitating ease of doing business while preventing the concentration of power.
- Online Safety and Trust: Safeguarding users against cyber threats, addressing issues such as revenge porn, defamation, cyberbullying, and moderating fake news. The bill advocates for digital rights and protects minors.
- KYC Requirements: Mandating Know Your Customer (KYC) for privacy-invading devices like spy camera glasses.
- Monetization Rules: Revamping rules related to platform and user-generated content to align them with the provisions of the Digital India Bill.
Key Feature:
- Revisiting the Concept of Safe Harbour: In the realm of cyberspace, a significant aspect currently under reconsideration by the government pertains to the ‘safe harbour’ principle.
- Understanding Safe Harbour: The ‘safe harbour’ principle is rooted in the idea that internet ‘intermediaries’ should not be held accountable for content posted on their platforms by third parties. This principle, in essence, grants social media platforms immunity from legal liability regarding user-generated content.
- Evolution of Safe Harbour: In recent years, the ‘safe harbour’ concept has faced restrictions and modifications due to regulations such as the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. These rules mandate that platforms must remove content when instructed by the government or when compelled to do so by law.
Download Yojna daily current affairs eng med 11th Oct 2023
Q.1 Consider the following statements regarding the Digital India Bill (DIA) and the concept of ‘Safe Harbour’:
- The ‘Safe Harbour’ principle holds internet intermediaries responsible for content posted by third parties on their platforms.
- One key component of the Digital India Bill is mandating KYC for privacy-invading devices.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
ANSWER: D
Q.3 Examine the significance of the Digital India Act (DIA) 2023 in the context of India’s digital transformation. Analyze the potential impact of this legislation on various stakeholders
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