Amazon, Google Bow Down To Indian Govt.; Both Will Comply With Data Localisation Laws!

And thus, the corporate had to compromise with the laws, in order to operate in India.

In a decision which will have long-term implications, both Amazon and Google have agreed to comply with data localization laws, as put forth by RBI.

What have Amazon and Google promised? And how it will impact other digital companies in India?

Keep reading to know more!

Amazon: We Will Share Users’ Payment Data With Govt.

Amazon India has now agreed to share their customers’ payment related data with the Govt. of India, thereby complying with RBI’s dikat on local sharing of data.

In their terms and conditions page, Amazon India has made this following addition:

“We may be required to share the aforesaid information with government authorities, regulators and/or agencies for the purposes of verification of identity or for prevention, detection, investigation including cyber incidents, prosecution and punishment of offences. You agree and consent for APIPL (the company that houses the payments business) to disclose your information, if so required under the applicable law”.

This clause under their Amazon Pay usage policy wasn’t existing earlier.

Note here, that the payments related data of customers on Amazon Pay shall be shared with the Govt. only when there is an issue with cyber crime or any other suspicious activity.

In the US too, Amazon has informed their users about their obligation to support the local laws, but there, an annual list of such requests is published, for transparency.

It would be interesting to know whether such disclosure would be applicable to India or not.

Amazon India spokesperson has confirmed the change in Amazon Pay’s user policy related to data sharing.

Google: Yes, We Will Store Data Locally

Meanwhile, Google too has agreed to comply with local storage of data rule by RBI, and have announced to set up a dedicated data center in India for the same.

Recently, Google CEO Sundar Pichai had met law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in the US, their promise to comply with data localization laws was made.

Although Google hasn’t yet confirmed this stand, but a spokesperson hinted at this possibility, as he said, “There is a need to find practical and contemporary solution to policy issues in line with global best practices. We have nothing to add at this point.”

As per reports coming in, Google has sought a couple of months as an extra time, for being able to comply with the rules.

How Can It Change The Equations?

In April this year, Reserve Bank of India issued a notification, which mandated all financial institutions and payment companies like wallets to store all their India specific data in India.

This sent shockwaves across the industry, as storing data in India is an expensive affair, and failure to do so can result in termination of the license.

This is the reason Apple Pay hasn’t launched in India, and till now, Amazon, Google and other major players in this domain resisted this move.

Now, as Google Pay has already been launched, and Amazon Pay is getting traction, they have decided to comply with this new rule.

As Google and Amazon have agreed to store data locally, Govt. can leverage this development, and convince all other wallets, fintech companies (Microsoft too was resisting) to do the same.

We will keep you updated, as we receive more inputs.

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