After it’s time and again hide n seek with troubles in India, ByteDance the parent company of TikTok and Helo is examining options to set up a data centre in India to store store information of Indian users.
It is only recently the two social media platforms were issued notices along with a set of 24 questions regarding the alleged misuse of their platforms for anti national activities in the country by the Indian government.
The Centre also warned the apps that they may face a ban if incase they fail to submit appropriate responses by 22nd July.
“As a testimony to ByteDance’s recognition of India’s efforts to frame a new data protection legislation, we are pleased to announce that we are taking a significant step towards establishing a data centre in India. We are now in the process of examining options for safe, secure and reliable services for our Indian users within India’s borders,” ByteDance said in an emailed statement to PTI.
While the company did not provide more details, sources privy to the development said ByteDance has started discussions with local players and it could take between 6-18 months to start the process of local storage of data.
The Indian government is also crafting a personal data protection bill that moots seeking “explicit consent” for processing ‘sensitive personal information’ like religious or political beliefs, sexual orientation and biometric details, defines obligations of data processors as also rights of individuals, and proposed penalties for violation.
The Chinese video sharing app has been under the radar since April this year when Madras High Court had directed the Centre to ban app as it encouraged inappropriate content. While the order was later lifted looks like the app is still facing some heat.
