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India Takes Major Step in Regulating Data Compliance for Big Tech Companies

By  |  August 7, 2023

India took a major step forward in the process of regulating data compliance regulations for Big Tech companies on August 7th. This unexpected move comes after years of work to the Indian government’s Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2023. This move in the parliament is a huge boon to global tech giants such as Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Meta Platforms Inc., and Microsoft, as it will drastically reduce the compliance burden necessary for them to function in India as well as access Indian sourced data from out of the country.

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    Anisha Chand, from Indian law firm Khaitan & Co., explains that, “The current bill pivots from a trusted jurisdiction, or country, approach to a softer negative list for cross-border data transfers, which is certainly a pro-business move.” This pivot in the bill creates a new and much more lax system for handling data transfer. In addition, the bill gives sector-specific regulators, such as the central bank for fintech companies, a bigger say over data rules for the industries they oversee.

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    The proposed legislation is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push to revamp the tech landscape of India. With a population of over 1.4 billion, roughly half of which use the internet to stay connected, India is a key growth market for global technology giants. The aim of this legislation is to bring some balance to the market and protect user data privacy. The new bill requires companies to get users’ permission before collecting personal data and also prevents companies from using the collected data for any purpose other than those mentioned in the contract.

    Related: Indian Think-Tank Calls For Competition Law To Save Startups From Big Techs

    It is clear that this move is positive for business in the tech industry in India, allowing for easier access to expand to new markets, but it still leaves some questions to be answered. It remains to be seen how this bill will bring about a new era of responsible data management and if it manages to uphold the rights of individuals to data privacy.

    The news of the data compliance legislative update has been met with great excitement in the Indian tech industry. As reported by Bloomberg, the lower house of India’s parliament voted in approval of the bill, which is a clear sign of the Indian government’s commitment to helping the tech companies working within the country. This news has been met with a wave of optimism that will surely help propel the growth of the Indian tech industry in the years to come.

    Source: English Alarabiya