India rejects proposal to allow free flow of data outside the country

Stating that the concept of the Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT) is neither well understood nor is comprehensive enough in the legislation of many countries, India rejected it on Tuesday. Addressing a gathering of trade and investment ministers of G20 nations, Goyal said that Data was a potent tool for development and equitable access of data is a critical aspect for a country like India, reports ETV Bharat's Deputy News Editor, Krishnanand Tripathi.

New Delhi:India on Tuesday rejected the concept of the free flow of data with trust that will not have any oversight or government control on the inflow or outflow of user’s data across the borders.

We are of the view that the concept of the Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT) is neither well understood nor is comprehensive enough in the legislation of many countries, Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal told his G20 counterparts in a virtual meeting.

“In view of the huge digital divide among countries, there is a need for policy space for developing countries who still have to finalize laws around digital trade and data,” Goyal said.

Addressing a gathering of trade and investment ministers of G20 nations, Goyal said that Data was a potent tool for development and equitable access of data is a critical aspect for a country like India.

“The existing regulations on which DFFT is sought to be premised, such as uninhibited cross border flow of data, are grossly inadequate to address our concerns on data access,” said the minister.

He said that like many other developing countries, India was still in the process of preparing a framework for its data protection and e-commerce laws and acceptance of the concept of the unrestricted cross-border flow of data could further aggravate the digital divide.

The government has taken several measures in recent times to protect the privacy of data of Indian users.

While the Centre has banned hundreds of Chinese mobile apps including Tiktok, Helo, PUBG and others in the last two months, the Reserve Bank of India asked the global financial and e-commerce giants such as Master Card, Visa, Amazon and others to retain the data of Indian users within the country.

Piyush Goyal said that India, along with some other G-20 members, did not participate in the Osaka track last year due to the country’s reservation about the unrestricted flow of user data outside the country.