DPDP Act VS DPDP vs GDPR: Key Differences for Indian Businesses
Compare India's DPDP Act 2023 and the EU's GDPR. Learn the key differences in consent, children's data, and cross-border transfer rules.
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What This Means In Practice
Use this table to brief your legal, product and marketing teams.
| Question | DPDP Direction | DPDP vs GDPR: Key Differences for Indian Businesses Direction | Practical Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Can we process by default? | Often consent-first | Often depends on a different legal model | India flows may need earlier consent design. |
| Is a global privacy model enough? | No | Not always | Global privacy work does not map one-to-one to DPDP. |
| Are children protected differently? | Under 18 | Check local age thresholds | Indian child-user products need stricter review. |
| Is breach risk enough to trigger work? | Yes | Yes | Security, response and evidence matter in both systems. |
Three Questions To Ask Internally
- Are we copying a non-India privacy model into an Indian product?
- Do our consent flows work for Indian users?
- Which global privacy controls can be reused, and which must be redesigned for DPDP?
If you operate across India and another market, do not assume one privacy program covers both. Use the stricter flow where user trust and evidence matter most.
Legal Bases for Processing
GDPR offers six legal bases for processing data, including contract fulfillment and legitimate interests. DPDP 2023 is stricter. It primarily relies on consent and a narrow set of “legitimate uses.” Indian firms cannot use “legitimate interest” as a broad justification for data collection. If you rely on business interests to process employee or marketing data in Europe, you must switch to a consent-based model for Indian users.
Age of Digital Adulthood
DPDP sets the age of digital adulthood at 18 years. Any user under 18 is a child and requires verifiable parental consent. GDPR allows European member states to set this age between 13 and 16. A 17-year-old is an adult under GDPR in many countries but remains a child under DPDP. Companies must update their age-gating logic to identify Indian users between 13 and 18 years old.
Data Portability and Erasure
GDPR grants individuals the right to data portability. This allows users to move their data from one service to another in a machine-readable format. The DPDP Act does not include a right to portability. Both laws require data erasure. Under DPDP, you must delete personal data once the specific purpose for collection is met, unless a specific law requires you to keep it.
| Feature | DPDP Act 2023 | GDPR |
|---|---|---|
| Age of Consent | 18 years | 13 to 16 years |
| Data Portability | Not required | Required |
| Legal Bases | Consent and Legitimate Use | Six bases including Legitimate Interest |
| Sensitive Data | No separate categories defined | Defined categories like health and race |
| Representative | Not required | EU Representative required for outsiders |
| Cross-border | Blacklist model | Whitelist model |
| Right to be Forgotten | Included | Included |
This week
Review your user registration database to identify the birth dates of all users located in India. Flag every account where the user is under 18 to prepare for parental consent verification requirements.
FAQ
Q: Can I use the same privacy policy for both laws? A: No. DPDP requires specific notice details that differ from GDPR. You must list the specific data types collected and explain user rights in plain English or specified Indian languages.
Q: Does DPDP require a Data Protection Officer like GDPR? A: Only organizations labeled as Significant Data Fiduciaries must appoint a DPO under DPDP. GDPR requires a DPO for any organization doing large-scale monitoring or handling sensitive information.
Q: How do these laws handle data transfers outside the country? A: GDPR uses standard contractual clauses and adequacy lists. DPDP allows transfers to most countries unless the Indian government specifically places a country on a restricted list.
Confused by the differences?
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