Modi govt to refresh IT Act, but present focus on Personal Data Protection Bill, says top official

The government plans to refresh the Information Technology Act to address the requirements of new technologies and developments in the industry, a top government official said on Friday. Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity) Secretary Ajay Prakash Sawhney, however said the government’s immediate focus is on putting in place the Personal Data Protection (PDP) Bill.

“There is also requirement to refresh IT Act itself. The IT Act came in 2000 and was last amended in 2008,” the Secretary said at an industry event. Sawhney said there is a need to review the IT Act because issues at present have changed significantly. He said the new IT rules for social media platforms have strengthened the rights of users.