Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Tech Giants Plan to Fight Against India’s New Data Law

Leading global technology giants plan to oppose a new law in India which would ask Facebook, WhatsApp, Paypal, Google, and many others to store user data in the country.

The business who oppose the law said that the legislation could spoil the investment and business models of international and domestic businesses operating in the country.


In July, a government panel recommended that all "critical personal data" should be processed in India, and presented a draft bill that could affect how global firms store customer data.

Facebook, Mastercard and PayPal fear the new law, which follows similar measures in China and Vietnam, would increase their compliance and infrastructure costs, and affect planned investments.

Their concerns are to be taken up lobby groups planning a joint effort to pressure New Delhi to reconsider.

"The potential fear of restricting cross-border data flow would impact the business models of several Indian as well as global companies," said a draft of their letter addressed to India's information technology minister.

"Fear of restrictive regulation has the potential to negatively impact the flow of foreign investments," said Reuters.

The letter, to be delivered by September 30, is supported by the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, the Washington-based Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), London-based techUK, and India's NASSCOM.

Together they represent some of the biggest names in global technology, including Alphabet Inc's Google, Salesforce.com Inc, Microsoft and India's Wipro.

An IT ministry official said data localization was necessary to enable the government to carry out investigations and to guard against data breaches, which are widespread globally.

"They (industry) are too ambitious to think this won't become a law within a year," said the official, who declined to be identified as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

The campaign will argue that the data law hurts both foreign and local firms, many of which now store data overseas, said an official of one of the international companies involved.

ITI's executive vice president for policy, Josh Kallmer, said the group would send lobbyists from Washington and Brussels to hold talks with Indian officials.

The US-India forum said it was working to build an industry-wide consensus on data protection. The Confederation of Indian Industry is also canvassing members to join the effort, an industry source said.

TechUK declined to comment, while NASSCOM did not respond to a request for comment.

India is the latest country to seek tighter control over data and domestic operations of global tech firms.

In June, Vietnam passed a cybersecurity law for technology firms to store "important" personal data on users in the country. Industry lobby groups opposed the measure.

For India, home to several global tech firms, the data law appears set to become the newest irritant in the trade with the United States.

Besides the data law, government panels are drafting policies to regulate data stored by cloud computing, e-commerce and payment companies.

Reuters

More For You

Baiju Bhatt

At 40, Bhatt is the only person of Indian origin in this group, which includes figures such as Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg. (Photo: Getty Images)

Baiju Bhatt named among youngest billionaires in US by Forbes

INDIAN-AMERICAN entrepreneur Baiju Bhatt, co-founder of the commission-free trading platform Robinhood, has been named among the 10 youngest billionaires in the United States in the 2025 Forbes 400 list.

At 40, Bhatt is the only person of Indian origin in this group, which includes figures such as Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg. Forbes estimates his net worth at around USD 6–7 billion (£4.4–5.1 billion), primarily from his roughly 6 per cent ownership in Robinhood.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London. (Photo: Getty Images)
Getty Images

Economy shows no growth in July amid political turbulence

UK's ECONOMY showed no growth in July, according to official data released on Friday, adding to a difficult week for prime minister Keir Starmer’s government.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said gross domestic product was flat in July, following a 0.4 per cent rise in June.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rachel Reeves

'Our economy isn't broken, but it does feel stuck,' Reeves said, speaking alongside the release of a finance ministry report on business property taxation, known as rates.

Getty Images

Reeves signals possible changes to business property taxes ahead of budget

CHANCELLOR Rachel Reeves said on Thursday she is considering changes to business property taxes to support small firms looking to expand, as part of her plans to boost growth.

Reeves’ comments come ahead of her annual budget on November 26, at a time when concerns about possible tax rises and inflation are weighing on businesses and households.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rachel Reeves

Reeves pledged to keep a tight hold on spending to reduce inflation and borrowing costs amid concerns over Britain’s fiscal outlook.

Getty Images

Reeves urges ministers to back Bank of England on inflation

CHANCELLOR Rachel Reeves has said the government must support the Bank of England in bringing down inflation while also focusing on growth, ahead of a budget later this year that is expected to include tax rises.

Last week, Reeves said the economy was not “broken” as she announced November 26 as the date for her annual budget.

Keep ReadingShow less
Trump urges EU to impose steep tariffs on India and China over Russian oil

US president Donald Trump (R) and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi hold a joint press conference in the East Room at the White House on February 13, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Trump urges EU to impose steep tariffs on India and China over Russian oil

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump urged EU officials to hit China with tariffs of up to 100 per cent as part of a strategy to pressure Russian president Vladimir Putin, according to a US official and an EU diplomat.

Trump also encouraged the European Union to slap India with similarly expansive tariffs, said the official, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Keep ReadingShow less