Overview
Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, consent has become the primary legal basis for processing personal data. This consent must be free, specific, informed, unconditional, and unambiguous - with clear affirmative action from the data principal. Managing consent at scale requires systematic approaches to collection, recording, and lifecycle management, often implemented through consent management platforms and processes.
Consent management is not merely a technology problem - it is an operational and legal architecture that spans the organisation. Customer-facing systems must collect consent appropriately. Backend systems must respect consent boundaries. Withdrawal requests must propagate across all processing activities. Audit trails must demonstrate compliance. Contracts governing consent management must address this full operational scope.
When organisations engage consent management platform providers, or when they share consent records with data sharing partners, specific contractual frameworks are required. These agreements must address who maintains the authoritative consent record, how consent status is communicated across systems, and what happens when consent is withdrawn or expires.
Key Considerations
Consent Collection Standards
Requirements for how consent is obtained, including notice content, affirmative action mechanisms, and granularity of consent options.
Record Integrity
Standards for consent record creation, storage, and maintenance to demonstrate compliance to regulators.
Propagation Mechanisms
How consent status and changes are communicated to all systems and parties that process based on the consent.
Withdrawal Handling
Processes and timelines for honouring consent withdrawal across all processing activities.
Audit and Evidence
Requirements for maintaining audit trails that can demonstrate valid consent was obtained.
Platform Arrangements
Terms governing consent management platform providers including data handling and service levels.
Applying the TCL Framework
Technical
- Evaluating consent management platform capabilities
- Assessing integration with existing systems and data flows
- Understanding consent record storage and security
- Reviewing consent propagation mechanisms
- Evaluating audit trail and reporting capabilities
Commercial
- Pricing structures for consent management services
- Volume-based scaling considerations
- Implementation and integration costs
- Ongoing operational costs
- Exit and data portability costs
Legal
- Ensuring DPDPA compliance in consent frameworks
- Addressing liability for consent failures
- Defining authoritative consent record ownership
- Creating appropriate data processing terms
- Establishing dispute resolution mechanisms
"Consent is not a checkbox - it is a relationship. Under DPDPA, that relationship must be built on transparency, maintained with respect for data principal choice, and evidenced through robust records. The consent management framework operationalises this relationship."
Common Pitfalls
Consent Bundling
Combining multiple purposes into single consent requests, violating the granularity requirements under DPDPA.
Record Gaps
Failing to maintain complete consent records that demonstrate valid consent was obtained at the time of collection.
Propagation Delay
Systems that do not update consent status in real-time, leading to processing after withdrawal.
Evidence Weakness
Consent records that cannot adequately demonstrate the consent was freely given and properly informed.
Platform Dependency
Over-reliance on consent platform providers without adequate data portability and exit provisions.
DPDPA Consent Requirements
DPDPA establishes specific requirements for valid consent: it must be free (not coerced), specific (for defined purposes), informed (with proper notice), unconditional (not bundled with unrelated matters), and unambiguous (clear affirmative action). Consent must be as easy to withdraw as to give. Records must demonstrate these requirements were met. Violations can attract penalties up to Rs. 250 crore. Consent mechanisms must also accommodate special requirements for children's data and significant data fiduciary obligations.
Practical Guidance
- Design consent collection for DPDPA compliance from the outset, not as an afterthought.
- Implement granular consent that allows data principals meaningful choice.
- Create robust consent records that capture the full context of consent.
- Build real-time consent propagation across all processing systems.
- Establish clear processes for handling withdrawal requests promptly.
- Maintain audit capabilities to demonstrate compliance when required.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Practice Areas
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