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

Tesco Clubcard Changes: Update Your App Before the Deadline

The digital Clubcard offers convenience and flexibility

Getty

Tesco Clubcard changes: Customers urged to update app before Monday deadline

Tesco has issued an urgent call for action to millions of its Clubcard users, advising them to update their Tesco Shopping & Clubcard app before Monday, 31 March 2025. The supermarket giant is rolling out an important update to improve data protection and online security, and failure to update the app by the deadline will leave customers unable to access their digital Clubcard benefits.

Update to ensure enhanced security

The upcoming changes are being implemented to enhance the security of customer data and improve overall protection. Tesco has highlighted the importance of this upgrade, as it seeks to safeguard customer information and keep their online shopping experiences secure.

Keep ReadingShow less
OpenAI Restricts ChatGPT’s Image Feature After Viral Ghibli Trend

Altman addressed the impact of the popular Ghibli-style image trend on OpenAI’s resources

Getty

OpenAI limits ChatGPT’s image generation feature amid viral Ghibli image trend

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has announced temporary limitations on the company’s image generation feature in response to overwhelming demand driven by a viral trend. On Thursday, Altman addressed the impact of the popular Ghibli-style image trend on OpenAI’s resources, particularly its reliance on GPUs (graphics processing units). Altman revealed that the surge in demand for ChatGPT’s image generation tool has led to significant strain on the company’s infrastructure, prompting the introduction of temporary speed limits for users.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Altman shared the company’s response to the unexpected demand, stating, “It’s super fun seeing people love images in ChatGPT, but our GPUs are melting. We are going to temporarily introduce some rate limits while we work on making it more efficient. Hopefully won’t be long! ChatGPT free tier will get 3 generations per day soon.”

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

Economic growth in 2024 slightly higher than estimated: ONS

THE UK economy grew slightly more than first estimated in 2024, according to official data released on Friday, providing a small boost for the government after it revised down its growth forecast for 2025.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said gross domestic product expanded by 1.1 per cent in 2024, up from an initial estimate of 0.9 per cent.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sri Lanka posts five per cent GDP growth as it ends years of economic decline

Sri Lanka's president Anura Kumara Dissanayake

Sri Lanka posts five per cent GDP growth as it ends years of economic decline

CASH-STRAPPED Sri Lanka’s economy grew by five per cent in 2024, marking the first full year of expansion since its unprecedented meltdown in 2022, official data showed last Tuesday (18).

The last quarter of 2024 saw the economy expand by 5.4 per cent, bringing the full calendar year’s GDP growth to five per cent, compared to a contraction of 2.3 per cent in 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump

Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said, 'What we’re going to be doing is a 25 per cent tariff on all cars that are not made in the US.'

Getty Images

Trump imposes 25 per cent tariffs on foreign-built cars

US president Donald Trump has announced a 25 per cent tariff on imported cars and auto parts, escalating trade tensions with key partners.

The new duties take effect on 3 April and apply to foreign-made cars and light trucks, with additional levies on key auto parts set to follow within the month.

Keep ReadingShow less