Hindustan Times: New Delhi: Saturday, July 28, 2018.
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| Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad accepts a report on 'Data Protection Framework' from Justice BN Srikrishna, in New Delhi on July 27.(PTI Photo) |
Provisions in
the landmark draft bill on data protection submitted by the justice BN
Srikrishna committee to the government on Friday could have an impact on some
other key laws, including the Right To Information (RTI) Act.
“...
disclosure of information from public authorities may lead to private harms
being caused. It is thus important to recognise that, in this context, there is
a conflict of fundamental rights, between transparency and privacy,” the
committee’s report says.
The draft
Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018 seeks to amend the RTI Act’s Section
8(1)(j), which states that personal information that doesn’t serve “public
activity or interest” cannot be disclosed unless it is deemed to be of public
interest. In other words, personal information can be sought under RTI if it is
found to serve a public cause.
Activists say
such a provision can be cited to deny public information. Anjali Bharadwaj, a
co-convener of the National Campaign for People’s Right to Information, said:
“With the kind of rampant corruption, people are unable to avail basic
entitlements. Now somebody might say this is personal data, and refuse to share
it. ... this Bill could have a very retrograde effect.”
Former chief
information commissioner MM Ansari said the amendment suggested by the
Srikrishna committee is inconsequential, as the present RTI Act already
protects personal information. “Under the RTI Act, personal information and
data are already protected. The disclosure of any information which has no
public interest and which has no bearing on any public activity is not
allowed,” said Ansari.
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