The Calm Before The Storm: How The Upcoming Data Protection Law Will Impact EdTech In India

The past few years have seen an EdTech boom in India. Some say that this is just the start - and much more is yet to come. As per latest numbers, Indian born and bred Byju's is valued at USD 18 billion,¹ making it the highest valued Indian start-up. Several EdTech start-ups have already joined the Unicorn club, and many more are in the waiting. This is an indicator of the size and growth trajectory of EdTech in India. Especially with parents and children stuck at home, the pandemic allowed EdTech especially online learning platforms, to grow in leaps and bounds.

As EdTech entities are primarily technology driven, they fall outside the purview of education laws per se, allowing business flexibility. However, this is not to say that they function in a regulatory vacuum. There is a host of other laws that apply to them. One of them being the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act) and the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and