Algorithm Bias, Automated Decision-Making, And The Right To Explanation: Comparative Analysis Of India's DPDP Act 2023 And The EU AI Act 2024
- IJLLR Journal
- Jul 19
- 2 min read
Deshna Sanghavi, B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) Candidate, Kirit P. Mehta School of Law, SVKM's NMIMS, Indore
ABSTRACT
Automated decision-making (ADM) systems powered by algorithmic processes now determine outcomes that are fundamental to individual liberty and dignity — credit eligibility, employment, healthcare triage, criminal bail, and social welfare entitlements. When these systems embed, amplify, or perpetuate bias, the consequences fall disproportionately upon already marginalised communities. Two landmark regulatory instruments have emerged in 2023 and 2024 to address this challenge: India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) and the European Union's Artificial Intelligence Act, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (EU AI Act). This paper conducts a critical comparative analysis of the two frameworks across four dimensions: the scope and definition of algorithmic bias; the recognition and enforceability of a right to explanation for ADM outputs; accountability mechanisms for high-risk AI deployments; and the adequacy of remedial architectures for individuals adversely affected by biased automated decisions. The paper finds that while the EU AI Act provides a more structurally coherent and rights-protective framework, it is not without significant implementation gaps. India's DPDP Act, by contrast, addresses the question of automated decision-making only implicitly and incompletely, leaving a critical regulatory vacuum at precisely the moment when Indian public and private sector deployment of ADM systems is accelerating. The paper concludes with a set of concrete legislative and regulatory recommendations for India, drawing on the EU model while accounting for India's constitutional framework, its judicial doctrine on the right to privacy, and the socio-economic context in which Indian ADM systems operate.
Keywords: Algorithmic bias, Automated decision-making, Right to explanation, DPDP Act 2023, EU AI Act 2024, Artificial intelligence regulation, Data protection, Explainability, High-risk AI, India-EU comparative law.
