Parents’ permission is necessary, know about the government’s draft for children’s social media use.

New Delhi : The government is going to make strict rules regarding children’s use of social media. According to the draft regarding the rules of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP), children will need parental consent to access social media. To confirm that those giving consent are the parents of the child, they will be verified through an identity card issued by the government. The government released the draft rules of the DPDP law on Friday. Suggestions on this have been sought from stakeholders till February 18. Under the law, there will be provisions to ensure security of users’ data on digital platforms including e-commerce companies and social media and to prevent its misuse. This law was passed by the Parliament only in August 2023. What are the proposed rules of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act? Under this, up to what age a user will be considered a child? How will parental consent be verified? Let us know the answers to such important questions.When was the law made?
Passed by Parliament in August 2023

Why in discussion now?
What will be the rules under the law and how it will be implemented has not been finalized yet. The government has prepared draft rules and has sought suggestions from stakeholders on it. If the suggestions are good then the government can include them in the rules. The law will come into force after the rules are decided.

Who are children under the draft rules?
under 18 years of age

For how long has the government sought suggestions on draft rules?
till 18th february

Where can you give suggestions?
MyGov.in

Data fiduciaries will be divided into 3 categories
Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, children under 18 years of age will now have to obtain parental consent to open a social media account. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) released this draft on Friday and has sought suggestions from people on MyGov.in till February 18.

These draft rules also provide scope for withdrawal of data localization provision for certain types of personal data. Categories of data fiduciaries have been created for the first time. Data fiduciaries are the individuals or institutions/bodies that decide how data will be processed. How and how much will they be used? In simple words, data fiduciaries can be called data handlers. These have been proposed to fall into three broad categories: e-commerce companies, gaming intermediaries and social media firms.

The draft defines important digital intermediaries including ‘e-commerce entities’, ‘online gaming intermediaries’ and ‘social media intermediaries’. Specific guidelines have been set for everyone. Social media platforms as defined in the draft are intermediaries that primarily enable online interaction between users, including the sharing, dissemination and modification of information.

Parent verification will be done through government issued identity card or digital locker.
The new rules have stringent provisions to protect the data of children and persons with disabilities. Data fiduciaries must obtain parental or guardian consent before using children’s data. For this, digital identity tokens like government ID or digital locker will be used. This will ensure that children’s data is not used without their consent. Educational institutions and child welfare organizations may be exempted from some rules. Consumers will also have the right to have their data deleted and ask for information about the reasons for data collection. Violation of rules can attract a fine of up to Rs 250 crore.

It will be the responsibility of the data fiduciary to verify the authenticity of the person claiming to be the guardian of a minor for social media access. The relationship between the guardian and the minor will also be verified. For this, ‘trusted identity and age details’ available with the platform or ‘voluntarily’ provided identity and age details by the user will be used.

Educational institutions and child welfare organizations may be exempted from certain rules, so that the education and welfare of children is not affected.

250 crore fine on companies for violation of rules
A heavy fine of up to Rs 250 crore can be imposed on companies for violating the rules. With this, companies will be more cautious about data security.

Consumers will have rights over their data, they will also be able to get it deleted if they wish.
Consumers will also get many rights related to their data. They will be able to get their data deleted and ask companies why their data is being collected. This will give consumers more control over their data. According to the rules, these companies will have to delete personal data of inactive users on their platforms after three years. In case of a data breach, data fiduciaries will have to inform the Data Protection Board within 72 hours.

If there is a data breach, the companies will clearly inform the user without any delay.
Data fiduciaries operating in India are required to inform each user about the details of the data breach ‘in a concise, clear and simple manner and without undue delay’ through his/her or her user account or through any communication channel provided by the user. will be. These details will include the nature, extent, time and location of the data breach, its impact on the user, the measures being taken to mitigate the risk and the contact information of the person the user can contact in case of any queries related to the data breach. Is.

Proposal to create a Data Protection Board to monitor compliance with rules
To monitor whether these rules are being followed or not, how they are being followed, the government is planning to set up a Data Protection Board. The proposed board will function as a purely digital regulatory body. The Board will hold remote hearings, investigate violations and impose penalties. This board will do the registration of consent managers. It will be necessary for the consent manager to maintain a minimum net worth of Rs 12 crore.