Consent Framework under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023: Legal Requirements and Compliance Strategies

Posted On - 24 September, 2025 • By - Jidesh Kumar

Executive Summary

The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) establishes consent as the central pillar of lawful processing of personal data in India. Consent is required to be free, specific, informed, unconditional, and unambiguous, obtained through a clear affirmative action. The Act also introduces innovative requirements such as multi-lingual notices, easy withdrawal mechanisms, and parental consent for children’s data, reflecting India’s socio-digital context.

This article analyses the statutory framework for consent, examines the elements of validity, compares India’s approach with global models such as the GDPR, CCPA, and LGPD, and provides practical compliance strategies for organizations. Illustrative examples from fintech, healthcare, ed-tech, e-commerce, and social media highlight what constitutes valid versus invalid consent under the Act.

For businesses, consent management is not merely a legal checkbox but a trust-building mechanism. Failure to comply may attract penalties of up to ₹250 crore per breach, apart from reputational and contractual risks.

The DPDP Act places individual autonomy and control at the heart of India’s data protection regime. Unlike contractual doctrines where consent can be implied, the Act requires express, affirmative, and informed consent before personal data may be processed.

This approach reflects global trends but also adapts them to India’s realities: a linguistically diverse population, a rapidly growing digital consumer base, and the need for accessible privacy choices. For organizations, building effective consent mechanisms is both a regulatory mandate and a business imperative.

  • Personal data can only be processed based on consent or certain legitimate uses specified in the Act.
  • Consent must be obtained before processing begins.
  • Consent must be revocable at any time, and withdrawal must be as easy as giving it.
  • The Act thus establishes a consent-first regime, departing from earlier frameworks under the IT Act, 2000 where consent obligations were minimal and sector-specific.

1. Free

  • Consent must not be coerced, forced, or tied to unrelated services.
  • Valid: User freely opts in to receive marketing updates after agreeing to service terms.
  • Invalid: Service cannot be accessed unless the user agrees to unrelated data sharing.

2. Informed

The data principal must be informed of:

  • The nature of personal data collected.
  • Purpose of processing.
  • Rights available (access, correction, erasure, withdrawal).
  • Contact details of grievance redressal.

3. Specific

  • Consent must be purpose-specific and cannot be blanket consent.
  • Example: A fintech app must separately obtain consent for (i) KYC verification, (ii) credit scoring, and (iii) marketing communications.

4. Unambiguous

  • Consent must result from a clear affirmative action.
  • Pre-ticked boxes or inactivity cannot be treated as consent.
  • Clicking “I Agree” or toggling an opt-in switch qualifies.

5. Unconditional

  • Consent must not be bundled with other services.
  • Example: A food delivery app cannot mandate location tracking at all times to place an order unless necessary for delivery.

Requirements:

  • Must be clear, concise, and easily accessible.
  • Must be available in all 22 official languages of India.
  • Must explain data collection, purposes, rights, and grievance mechanisms.

Practical Challenges:

  • High compliance costs for multi-lingual notices.
  • Difficulty in simplifying legal jargon for consumer-friendly interfaces.
  • Need for innovative UI/UX solutions like layered notices, video/audio notices for semi-literate users.

The DPDP Act requires that withdrawal of consent be as easy as giving it.

Implications for Businesses:

  • Platforms must create “consent dashboards” where users can withdraw consent at any time.
  • Withdrawal must not affect services not dependent on that consent.
  • Businesses must ensure real-time cessation of processing upon withdrawal.
  • Example: An ed-tech platform must allow students to withdraw consent for marketing emails without affecting access to course content.

Children’s Data

  • Child = individual under 18 years.
  • Processing requires verifiable parental consent.
  • Profiling, tracking, and targeted advertising of children is prohibited.

Persons with Disabilities

  • Consent must be provided through a lawful guardian.
  • Verifying parental consent is technologically challenging.
  • Platforms serving teenagers (gaming, social media) face compliance burdens.
  • Absence of nuanced age brackets (like GDPR’s 13–16 flexibility) makes India stricter.

Sector-Specific Implications

A. Fintech & Digital Lending

  • Explicit consent required for KYC, credit scoring, and marketing.
  • RBI guidelines and DPDP obligations will operate in parallel.
  • Invalid Example: Pre-installed consent in loan apps.

B. Healthcare & Health-Tech

  • Hospitals and telemedicine platforms must obtain clear consent for patient data.
  • Separate consents needed for treatment, research, and marketing.
  • Invalid Example: Collecting consent for clinical trial use during hospital admission.

C. Ed-Tech & Children’s Data

  • Parental consent mandatory for all processing.
  • Ed-tech platforms must prohibit behavioral profiling.
  • Valid Example: Verified parental consent through OTP and ID verification.

D. E-Commerce & Loyalty Programs

  • Separate consents needed for purchase data, loyalty tracking, and promotional emails.
  • Invalid Example: Automatically enrolling customers into loyalty programs without opt-in.

E. Social Media & Targeted Advertising

  • Consent required for targeted advertising and profiling.
  • Platforms must provide opt-out options easily.
  • Invalid Example: Default “personalized ads” switched on without explicit opt-in.

Valid Examples

  • App Install: User clicks “Allow access to contacts” via a toggle during install.
  • Healthcare Portal: Consent form explains treatment, billing, and optional research usage separately.
  • E-Commerce: User opts in for promotional offers by ticking a box while completing purchase.

Invalid Examples

  • Default Settings: Pre-ticked boxes for marketing.
  • Bundled Consent: Forcing consent to unrelated services (ads + payments).
  • Silence: Assuming consent if user does not click “No.”
  • Withdrawal Barriers: Making users email customer support to withdraw consent instead of one-click dashboards.

Global Comparisons

GDPR (EU)

  • Consent must be “freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous.”
  • Explicit consent required for special category data.
  • Right to withdraw consent guaranteed.

CCPA/CPRA (California)

  • Consent model is opt-out for sale/sharing of data, unlike India’s opt-in system.
  • Strong rights to opt out of cross-context behavioral advertising.

LGPD (Brazil)

  • Consent must be free, informed, and unambiguous.
  • Recognizes sensitive data categories requiring explicit consent.

PDPA (Singapore)

  • Consent-centric but allows legitimate interests exceptions.
  • Less prescriptive than India’s multi-lingual notice requirements.

Challenges for Businesses

  1. Multi-Lingual Obligations – Providing notices in 22 Indian languages.
  2. UX Design – Balancing simplicity and compliance in consent dashboards.
  3. Operational Complexity – Managing withdrawal requests at scale.
  4. Children’s Data – Verifiable parental consent remains technically unresolved.
  5. Regulatory Uncertainty – Overlap with RBI, SEBI, and sectoral regulators.

Compliance Strategies for Data Fiduciaries

  • Layered Notices: Present essential information upfront, with detailed explanations in expandable sections.
  • Consent Dashboards: Unified interfaces for granting, reviewing, and withdrawing consent.
  • Parental Verification: OTP + ID-based verification for ed-tech and gaming platforms.
  • Audit Trails: Maintain logs of consents obtained and withdrawals processed.
  • Staff Training: Ensure marketing, HR, and IT teams understand consent obligations.
  • Regular Reviews: Periodic audits of consent flows to align with evolving regulations.

Risks of Non-Compliance

  • Financial Penalties: Up to ₹250 crore per breach.
  • Reputational Harm: Loss of consumer trust.
  • Contractual Breach: Clients may terminate contracts for non-compliance.
  • Regulatory Scrutiny: Investigations by the Data Protection Board.

Conclusion & Key Takeaways

The DPDP Act establishes one of the most stringent consent regimes globally, combining principles of global frameworks with India-specific requirements. For businesses, this means:

  • Consent must be free, specific, informed, unambiguous, and unconditional.
  • Withdrawal of consent must be simple, real-time, and effective.
  • Notices must be clear and multi-lingual.
  • Special rules apply to children and persons with disabilities.
  • Invalid practices like bundled consent, pre-ticked boxes, and silence will not withstand scrutiny.

Ultimately, consent under DPDP is more than a legal mandate; it is a trust mechanism. Companies that invest in transparent, user-friendly consent frameworks will not only ensure compliance but also strengthen consumer confidence in India’s fast-growing digital economy.

Contributed By – Aurelia Menezes