Rules for AI regulation and data protection should be taken up urgently by the new govt, say experts

Rules to govern the domain of Artificial Intelligence and data protection would certainly be high up in the agenda of the new government, The Economic Times has stated in a report.

The Information Technology (IT) Act of 2000 is supposed to be replaced by Digital India Bill (DIB), which will have a fresh look at fake news, deep fake content and intermediary liability. Regulating artificial intelligence (AI) is also the need of the hour. The country’s first data protection legislation is also hanging fire since there are no subordinate rules to implement the piece of legislation.

Experts are unanimous that these should keep the new government engaged for the first 100 days. Rahul Matthan, founding partner at Trilegal law firm, told the newspaper that the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) rules should be notified in the first 100 days of the new administration.
“One can expect the rules to form part of the 100-day programme of the new government,” remarked Avimukt Dar, founding partner at IndusLaw. He felt it would be the natural thing to do since the legislation was passed in August last year and the rules would be urgently required.

Aparajita Bharti, founding partner at The Quantum Hub Consulting, said she also expects the DPDP rules to open for consultation in the first 100 days, as it has been 10 months since the DPDP Act was passed. Bharti argued, “Even after the rules are notified, the industry would need time (at least 12-18 months) to prepare for implementation. Therefore, the new government would want to move quickly on this.”

“Digital businesses have been preparing themselves since the Act was passed, but with substantial powers of delegated legislation, the Rules are essential for businesses to decode the law’s fine print,” said partner at Ikigai Law, Nehaa Chaudhari.

A wide consultation and deliberation of the rules is essential as it would impact all stakeholders across digital sectors. The public policy head at Nasscom, Ashish Aggarwal, said India’s global leadership in IT services, growing tech startups and increasing digital footprint have benefited the policies focused on strengthening consumer trust, fostering innovation, and improving ‘ease of doing business’.

However, the DIB (Digital India Bill) may not be as easy to wrap up within 100 days though a quick start mist be made.

“As far as DIB is concerned, we need to initiate the consultation first, so I am not sure if that can get done in the first 100 days,” Matthan remarked.

Dar said that the DIB is designed to bring together the myriad rules, guidelines and laws governing internet intermediaries. “While unofficial versions of this Bill are swirling around, some of the more aggressive current regulatory initiatives such as fact checking units are under challenge in courts and the government may want to receive judicial guidance before enacting such an omnibus legislation,” said Dar, who is the founding partner of IndusLaw.

The IT Act needs to be overhauled with the changing times and, therefore, the new dispensation must kick off consultations on DIB, remarked Amrita Choudhury, director, Cyber Café Association of India.

Bharti emphasised that the Digital India Bill is in its early stages and there is not yet for public consultation. She thinks it is not going to be passed this year.

Experts also unanimous on another issue – that of the need of the government to regulate AI. The possible impact of AI on domestic economy, jobs, intellectual property rights, data protection, liability of AI agents as indeed the harms it could cause in the form of misinformation should be explored, Garg said.

Regulation of AI should be explored but with caution to ensure that the domestic growth of AI does not get hampered, said Dar, the founding partner of IndusLaw. He thinks that in AI regulation, the issues straddle the zone between consumer protection and intellectual property and require careful deliberation. “As in many other regulatory initiatives, the European Union has taken the lead and that will help in empirical understanding of potential solutions to the inevitable rise of artificial intelligence,” Dar remarked.