Amazon says won’t appear before JPC According to another functionary aware of the matter

 Amazon says won’t appear before JPC According to another functionary aware of the matter, Amazon wrote to the committee it would be unable to attend because of risks related to travelling throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.                                          

     

US-headquartered Online retailer Amazon has refused to appear before Parliament's joint committee on the data protection bill next week, which might amount to a breach of parliamentary privilege, panel chairperson Meenakshi Lekhi said on Friday, suggesting that actions may be taken against the company.

Facebook's Policy head for India Ankhi Das, meanwhile, appeared before the board on the problem of data security on Friday, also has been questioned by members on revenue and advertising units, the hiring process as well as"neutrality" within the organisation. It had been given two weeks' time to submit written answers to the queries. The panel has summoned officials of Twitter on October 28, and Google and Paytm on October 29 as part of its research to issues of data protection, artificial intelligence and privacy.

                                              

That coercive action can be indicated to the government against the e-commerce company. Amazon has refused to appear before the panel on October 28 and when no one on behalf of this e-commerce company appears prior to the panel that it amounts to a breach of urgency," Lekhi said.

In accordance with another functionary conscious of The thing, Amazon wrote to the committee that it would be unable to attend because of risks associated with travel throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. "because of the current conditions as well as the risks associated with travelling, our subject matter experts who are based overseas will not have the ability to look for the deposition. We'll therefore have to decrease the petition for the deposition," the company's letter to the committee stated.

"Unlike many Other entities that seek time or ask an alternate program for deposition, Amazon didn't request such a relaxation. They just conveyed that they can't come," said one of the members cited above.

In response to your query from HT, Amazon We will continue to take part in almost any way the JPC considers a match. The inability of our experts to travel from overseas because of traveling limitation and depose before the JPC during the continuing pandemic might have been misconstrued and contributed to some misunderstanding and we will work together with the JPC to put the record straight."

                                           

Several MPs From the meeting suggested to Lekhi to write back to Amazon and clarify the importance of the committee as well as the consequences it may face if it did not appear before the board.

"Amazon ought to know that it is not an Option. Parliament rules are completely clear that if a thing is asked to appear before the panel, it is mandatory. This is a committee formed by members from both houses of Parliament," said an MP.

"It was also suggested that the board Should inform the ministries of commerce and information technology about Amazon's stand over the dilemma of corrosion because if any action is to be removed from the business, the government must decide it," said the MP.

Facebook Said in an announcement that it backed the attempts towards data security.

Discuss data regulation problems with the Hon'ble Members of the Joint Committee on the Personal Data Protection Bill. We believe that India's data protection law has the potential to propel the country's digital market and global digital commerce, and we wholeheartedly support this effort. That is precisely why we deeply love to be part of the discussion and will continue to work alongside regulators and governments to obtain the proper solutions which not only protect users' privacy but can also be interoperable with other major worldwide privacy regulations," that the Facebook statement stated.

According to people aware of the details, The panel sought a comprehensive written submission to a set of 20-25 questions on the particulars of the company's policy on landing pages down; about the advertising model that they follow upon the globe; and in which country the social media platform pays the highest tax. The company, represented by Ankhi Das and Bhairav Acharya, that are a part of Facebook's policy team in India, was asked questions on if the Business has a"hiring bias".

"They were asked if it's true that about 90 per cent of their employees has led to the Democrats. If that is so, is that the reason handles that published New York Post's news accounts on Hunter Biden were obstructed. They were also probed on the hiring policy and also if there's a prejudice that's reflected from the appointments being made in India and other countries as well," stated a person aware of the particulars.

There was an uproar last week after the Biden's dad Joe Biden is in the race.

The social media firm was summoned to explore the dilemma of the alleged misuse of its stage in the wake of claims that it didn't apply hate speech rules to certain BJP politicians, and regarding the company's policy on privacy and information protection.

The Business defended its place and Maintained that it would not be in India's best interests to insist against cross-border transfer of data, based on people in the know, who included that Facebook stated lately a large number of start-ups had begun to India and when there was no global data transfer those companies would need to leave the country.

Facebook advised the panel that in many European Nations, parental approval is needed to open an account for children below the age of 13. Still, in India that figure is 18, which has to be brought Down, stated the people cited previously, including that on questions over Facebook's Alleged effort to control elections in the united states, the social networking giant denied Each allegation.