Ecommerce policy to impose access on data handled by BigTechs in India

According to Bloomberg, the government has been working on the policy for at least two years amid calls to reduce the dominance of BigTechs like Amazon, Google, and Facebook.

Under the rules laid out in a 15-page draft, the government would appoint an ecommerce regulator to ensure that the industry is competitive with broad access to information resources. The policy draft was prepared by the Ministry of Commerce’s Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade.

The proposed rules would enable government access to online companies’ source codes and algorithms, which the ministry believes would help in overcoming ‘digitally induced biases’ by competitors. The draft also comes to find out whether ecommerce businesses have ‘explainable AI’. Besides, hosting data overseas has also been highlighted in previous drafts, as it received  critiques for being heavy-handed in helping local startups at the expense of others.

Therefore, ecommerce companies will be required to make data available to the government, which could include information related to national security, taxation, and law and order. Additionally, platforms would be required to provide to consumers the details of sellers, including phone numbers, customer complaint contacts, email, and addresses. Regarding imported goods, the country of origin and value of work done in India should be clearly specified.