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US Senators Urge India To Soften Data Localization Stance (reuters.com)

Posted by msmash on from the tussle-continues dept.

Two U.S. senators have called on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to soften India's stance on data localization, warning that measures requiring it represent "key trade barriers" between the two nations. From a report: In a letter to Modi dated Friday and seen by Reuters, U.S. Senators John Cornyn and Mark Warner -- co-chairs of the Senate's India caucus that comprises over 30 senators -- urged India to instead adopt a "light touch" regulatory framework that would allow data to flow freely across borders. The letter comes as relations between Washington and New Delhi are strained over multiple issues, including an Indo-Russian defense contract, India's new tariffs on electronics and other items, and its moves to buy oil from Iran despite upcoming U.S. sanctions.

Global payments companies including Mastercard, Visa and American Express have been lobbying India's finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India to relax proposed rules that require all payment data on domestic transactions in India be stored inside the country by October 15. The letter is most likely a last-ditch effort after the RBI told officials at top payment firms this week that the central bank would implement, in full, its data localization directive without extending the deadline, or allowing data to be stored both offshore as well as locally -- a practice known as data mirroring. "We see this (data localization) as a fundamental issue to the further development of digital trade and one that is crucial to our economic partnership," the U.S. senators said in the letter that has not been previously reported.

7 of 136 comments (clear)

  1. Kind of ironic... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    US Government once again trying to do the exact opposite of what you'd expect. Why is it other countries recognizes the threat of storing data about their own citizens outside their borders, EXCEPT the "5 eyes"? Could it be India ALSO wants to backdoor encryption which would at least in theory prohibit them from storing OUR data?

    Which would also make it very difficult if not impossible for companies to outsource to India. That isn't such a bad idea.

    1. Re: Kind of ironic... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      More nations, including the US, need to be protective of their own borders, people, and national interests.

      But unless those nations happen to be populated by black/brown people, doing this will get them branded as RACISS!!

      Among the global population whites are a 14% minority. Yet only white nations need diversity. No hard evidence is ever submitted that diversity is a good thing. It is an article of faith. Those who question it are treated as heretics when they are merely asking for substantiation, something celebrated when any other claim is made. It covers many diverse cultures living together and how/why it has worked, including several white ones.

      Possibly when aliens finally land and we are all "Earthlings" we'll get over this kind of thing. Until then there is a nice fluffy ideal of how things should be. Contrasting that is the real-world turnout of how it's worked every time it's been tried. It's the viewpoint of the child versus the adult.

  2. How about minding one's own business? by bogaboga · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Two U.S. senators have called on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to soften India's stance on data localization...

    Question is, how about nations minding their own business?

    Is that too much to ask?

    1. Re:How about minding one's own business? by alvinrod · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Close, but I think this is a case of the U.S. minding its own businesses.

    2. Re:How about minding one's own business? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Did you even read the summary?

      Global payments companies including Mastercard, Visa and American Express have been lobbying India's finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India to relax proposed rules that require all payment data on domestic transactions in India be stored inside the country by October 15.

      That's what this is all about. They don't want to have to setup more infrastructure in India. They are trying to save money.

      India's data is India's data

      This is about money. Not India, specifically.

  3. Corruption vs democracy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    In the US, you can only buy senators and above.

    In India you can buy any one.

    True democracy.

  4. Re:India Would Suffer - Trade Would Be Impeded by Luckyo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Same applies in reverse. There's a reason why India has been the stickler in all global negotiations on trade for last half a century. They don't need the world trade. Their economy is self-contained, able to consume what it produces because of its healthy demographics. Example of this is in the fact that even China was forced to sign up to medicine patenting and payment regimes, as China needs foreign market access, and that was one of the fields powerful enough to actually get China cut off.

    India still hasn't. They told the world powers insisting they sign or else to get fucked. And they do to this day. Which is why the "fake medicines" are overwhelmingly produced in India, and most of them are about as good as genuine stuff, and there's nothing that patent holders can do about it in spite of massive efforts both on their own part, and on the part of their parent states.

    India can afford to walk away from essentially any negotiation on trade should its interests dictate it does so even when threatened with massive economic sanctions. It's unique among all the major states in the world in this ability.