The new data regime will not increase Big Tech companies’ burden

India’s new regime for handling data transfers abroad is intended to help the domestic industry flourish and shouldn’t increase the burden on Big Tech companies from Google to Meta Platforms Inc. operating in the world’s most populous nation, the country’s technology minister said.

The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023 is aimed at establishing long-term rules to protect users while guiding the operations of foreign multinationals as well as domestic firms, Technology Minster Ashwini Vaishnaw told Bloomberg Television.

Years in the making, the new regulations passed this week and allow companies to export data to any country except those singled out by New Delhi. The move is considered a boon for global enterprises such as Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Meta as it eases data flows and reduces their compliance burdens. But it also requires companies to get consent before collecting personal data, and prevents them from using it for purposes not specified in the terms of use. That means companies can’t anonymize personal information for advertising or products such as artificial intelligence models.

We wanted “to create a very balanced model, where citizens’ data is protected online, as well as an innovation ecosystem that continues to grow,” Vaishnaw told Bloomberg Television anchors Rishaad Salamat and Yvonne Man. “It doesn’t increase their compliance burden.”

US internet giants have clashed with Narendra Modi’s administration in past years over issues from misinformation to privacy, after the government stepped up efforts to combat what it viewed as dangerous content online.

The bill needs the president’s assent before it becomes law. Roughly half of India’s 1.4 billion people use the internet, making the region a key growth market for global technology players. India, like governments around the world, is trying to balance the needs of businesses with individuals’ rights to data privacy. Bloomberg