Consent Management is crucial to meet DPDP Act Compliance

India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP) represents a significant step in the evolution of data privacy legislation. At its heart is the requirement for explicit consent management, which is a critical factor that organizations must navigate to ensure compliance. It is important to know how Consent Management impacts the DPDP Act across three dimensions: as a comprehensive enterprise solution, the implications for customer preferences in historical data, and the role it plays in marketing support.

Comprehensive Enterprise Solution

The DPDP Act necessitates a clear approach to consent management, requiring organizations to deploy comprehensive enterprise solutions.  These solutions must not only facilitate the gathering and recording of consent but also manage the lifecycle of consent, including its withdrawal.  Consent management under PDPA must be dynamic and responsive to the needs of both the individual and the data fiduciary.

For a comprehensive enterprise solution to be effective, it should seamlessly integrate with all data processing activities. This means all systems that manage personal data, from customer relationship management (CRM) to human resources (HR) systems, must be able to record the consent status of the data they process. Such a system ensures that consent is not an afterthought but a foundational element of all data handling operations.

The impact is profound.  Enterprises must now invest in robust data compliance solutions that can operate at a scale, ensuring that consent is tracked and auditable at any point in time. It is a shift that moves consent management from a simple compliance requirement to a strategic business imperative.

Customer Preferences Flagged in Every Historical Data Source

One of the key challenges posed by the DPDP Act is the treatment of historical data. Under the Act, not only new data be must collected with appropriate consent, but existing data must also be audited to ensure it meets the new standards. For organizations, this means undertaking a comprehensive review of their historical data and ensuring that customer preferences are flagged in every data source.

This retroactive application of consent has significant implications. Organizations must reach out to individuals to reaffirm or obtain consent where it was not previously recorded to the standards now required. Furthermore, this preference must be flagged and tracked across all systems where confidential data (PII/PHI/Sensitive/Non-sensitive) is stored or processed.

This level of granularity in managing historical data preferences ensures a clear consent trail. It also places the power back in the hands of the individual, enabling them to assert their rights over how their personal data is used. For enterprises, this means that the custodianship of data is no longer passive but requires active management and engagement with data subjects.

Marketing Support – Each PII Data Element Flagged to Prevent Accidental Compliance Failure

Marketing activities are significantly impacted by the DPDP Act due to the stringent consent requirements for the use of PII (Personally Identifiable Information). Each PII data element must be flagged with its consent status to prevent accidental compliance failures. This flagging mechanism acts as a safeguard, ensuring that marketing campaigns only use data that has been explicitly consented to for such purposes.

This constraint profoundly changes the marketing landscape. It demands a greater level of precision in targeting and segmentation strategies, ensuring that messages are only directed to individuals who have opted to receive them. Marketers must adopt privacy-by-design principles, considering the consent status of PII at every stage of campaign development and execution.

Moreover, the flagging system promotes transparency and trust. Consumers are increasingly aware of their privacy rights, and businesses that can demonstrate respect for these rights through meticulous consent management are likely to foster stronger customer relationships.

Consent Management is the linchpin of DPDP Act to meet compliance.  It requires a systemic overhaul of how enterprises manage personal data, demanding rigorous processes for historical data and imposing a new paradigm on marketing strategies. The enterprises that succeed under the DPDP Act will be those that view these obligations not as burdens, but as opportunities to build trust and demonstrate their commitment to protecting individual privacy.

Consent Management is an integrated module within ID-REDACT®, Data Safeguard’s flagship Data Privacy compliance product.

The Authors are Elliott Lowen(CPO), and Sudhir Sahu(Founder and CEO), Data Safeguard respectively.