Legal dimensions of Consent Management under the DPDP Act, 2023

As India moves forward with the global data privacy regimes through the enactment of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (“DPDP Act”), with the main focus on building systemic, enforceable, and user-oriented mechanisms for managing personal data. At the centre of this transformation lies the Consent Management System (“CMS”) a pivotal digital framework designed to ensure that the collection, processing and retention of personal data are carried out in strict compliance. CMS, plays a vital role in enabling organizations to embed legal compliance into their technological architecture, while also empowering users to exercise control over their personal information shared with the other party.

Under Section 6 of the DPDP Act, the concept of consent is clearly defined and regulated. Personal data can only be processed with the free, informed, specific, unambiguous, and affirmative consent of the Data Principal. CMS operationalizes these statutory principles through a consent lifecycle that covers collection, validation, updating, renewal, and withdrawal of data. The collection process is particularly significant in that it requires consent to be specific to the purpose, thus prohibiting any practice of bundling multiple data processing activities under a single vague agreement. Users are offered granular control with separate opt-in options for each processing purpose (e.g., service delivery, marketing, and analytics) ensuring alignment with the principle of data minimization.

The system requires that consent should be given through clear and affirmative actions such as selecting “I Agree” or selecting a checkbox. Pre-checked options or default consents are explicitly ruled out, reinforcing the principle that consent should be actively and knowingly provided. Recognizing India’s linguistic diversity, CMS also provides for consent notices in English, Hindi and all the other languages listed in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution. For special categories such as minors or persons lacking legal capacity, CMS provides for parent/guardian verification through platforms like DigiLocker, to ensure that consent is lawfully and verifiably obtained. A distinguishing feature of CMS is that it emphasizes on real-time consent validation.

When a Data Fiduciary seeks to introduce a new purpose or change the scope of an existing purpose, in that case, CMS triggers a consent update request, which has to be again accepted by the user. This ensures that consent is not only a one-time event but a continuous obligation. For consents with time-bound validity, the system prompts users to renew the consent in advance, thereby maintaining uninterrupted legality of data processing. CMS also enforces ease of withdrawal by allowing users to revoke consent through a simple and intuitive interface.

CMS also facilitates cookie consent management, which is important in the digital services ecosystem where cookies are often used for tracking, profiling and behavioural analytics. The system enables users to customize cookie preferences, such as essential, performance, analytics, etc. to modify or withdraw consent at any time. All cookie consents are logged with metadata and are subject to automatic expiration.

In essence, CMS serves as a legally compliant, technically resilient, and user-centric system that translates the abstract principles of the DPDP Act into enforceable practices. Due to its said advantages CMS is likely become a benchmark for industry compliance, not only within India but also in the context of cross-border transactions.