- The move would be in line with the Indian government’s efforts towards data localisation for user data gathered from India by various companies
- The company also said that it has so far been storing Indian users’ data in third party servers located in the United States (US) and Singapore
Chinese Internet technology company, Bytedance, has announced plans to establish local data centres in India. Bytedance is the company behind popular social media platforms TikTok and Helo. The company was recently issued a notice for these apps, by the Indian government, for allegedly misusing the platforms for “anti-national activities”. The apps were warned that they might face a ban if they fail to submit appropriate responses to the questions by July 22.
“We are now in the process of examining options for safe, secure and reliable services for our Indian users within India’s borders,” Bytedance announced via a press release.
The move would be in line with the Indian government’s efforts towards data localisation for user data gathered from India by various companies. According to Business Standard, the investment towards local data centres will be part of the billion dollar investment in India that Bytedance had announced earlier this year. The company “has an internal target of 6-18 months” to set up the data centres, the report said.
The company also said that it has so far been storing Indian users’ data in third party servers located in the United States (US) and Singapore. The company had claimed the same earlier this month as well, when Congress MP Shashi Tharoor accused the company of collecting user data illegally and sending it to China.
“These claims are simply untrue. The privacy and security of our users is a top priority for TikTok, and we abide by local laws and regulations in the markets where we operate,” the company said in a statement at the time.
Bytedance has also faced issues in the country for allegedly promoting pronographic content on its platforms. TikTok was banned in April this year, following an order by the Madras High Court, though the order was lifted later that month.
Source : LiveMint
