The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill may negatively impact how we, the public, can get information from the government. A provision in the bill could hit the 2005 Right to Information Act, by removing the existing legal basis that permits government bodies to disclose personal information of some people in public interest. The draft of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill that is in Parliament includes a designated section that significantly restricts Section 8(1)(j) of the 2005 legislation. What exactly does Section 8(1)(j) entail in the Right to Information Act? And how could this new amendment, as proposed in the DPDP bill, impact the effectiveness of the RTI Act. We will tell you all this and more…According to the existing provision, the RTI Act prevents the disclosure of personal information that is "unrelated to any public activity or interest, or causing unjustified intrusion into an individual's privacy, unless...there is a significant public interest warranting such revelation."On the other hand, the Data Bill seeks to do away with these conditions, imposing an across-the-board restriction on government agencies, and prohibiting the divulgence of any private information, regardless of the potential public interest involved. Activists argue that this will prevent government entities from revealing specific details, including names of individuals, which are currently accessible under Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act.Anjali Bhardwaj, co-convenor of the National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI) and a prominent activist, expresses concerns about the potential dilution of the RTI Act due to this amendment.Currently, in order to withhold personal information, it is required to substantiate the legitimacy of one or more of the following reasons: the information sought holds no pertinence to any public activity, is irrelevant to any public interest, or its disclosure would unjustly invade privacy. Additionally, the PIO/appellate authority must be persuaded that releasing said information lacks any substantial public interest justification. Activists believe that the intended amendment would considerably dilute the institutional independence of the DPAI while removing Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, 2005. The impact of passage of the Data protection bill on the effectiveness of RTI will be felt in more ways than one. Firstly, it will impose limitations on public's ability to access critical information, wherever an individual’s details form part of the data. This curtailment could put many documents away from the public’s eye.Additionally, the amendment is set to constrict access to personal data, potentially affecting the transparency of personal information handling. This may create challenges in obtaining insights into how personal data is managed by various entities.Furthermore, the overall transparency in various sectors and affairs could be influenced by this amendment.