India should establish a data regulator to monitor how companies collect, process, store, monetize and even destroy non-personal data (or data that has been made anonymous), as suggested by a team in charge of New Delhi in a draft report.
The eight-person panel said that companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon and Uber have benefited from a combination of "first-mover advantage", "remarkable network effect" and "huge data" that they have collected over the years.
This dominant position "has left many new competitors and start-ups crushed and faced with significant barriers to entry," said the draft report, which was made available to industry players for consultation before being presented to the IT ministry of nation next month.
New Delhi, which appointed the aforementioned committee last year, has moved in recent years to better understand and control the way technology companies use data and devise new guidelines for various sectors, including e-commerce.
India has emerged as a battleground for global giants such as Google, Facebook, Amazon and ByteDance are trying to woo hundreds of millions of Internet users for the first time in Asia's third largest economy.
Last month, New Delhi banned 59 apps and services developed by Chinese companies citing security and privacy concerns. On Monday, Google announced plans to invest $ 10 billion in India to accelerate the adoption of digital services.
In the draft report, obtained from ProWellTech and incorporated below, the Panel stated that a data authority is needed that provides centralized regulations for all exchanges of non-personal data to carefully evaluate and supervise the aspects mentioned above. .
"Market transactions and market forces alone will not produce the greatest social and economic benefits from the data for society. Proper institutional structures and regulations are essential for a thriving data economy and a well-functioning data society, "says the report.
The proposed regulator will have "integration" with "raw data pipes" of the technology companies and will be able to exercise its legal power to make requests for data sharing.
The draft report also recommends that companies provide their users with metadata of the information they are collecting or processing from them, so that "users can identify opportunities for combining data from multiple data companies and / or governments to develop solutions. , innovative products and services ".
