India is a huge market for US tech giants, largest for both facebook and WhatsApp by way of consumer numbers and 1/3 for Twitter

1. India is a massive market
for US tech giants,
Frequent run-ins with Indian
govt cloud US big tech's
expansion plans

2. another spat among India's authorities
and U.S. large tech has exacerbated
disillusion amongst companies that
have spent billions to construct hubs of
their biggest boom market, to the extent
some are rethinking expansion plans,
people near the matter said.
The government on Saturday stated
Twitter Inc had now not indicated
compliance with new regulations aimed
toward making social media companies
extra accountable to criminal requests,
and therefore risked dropping liability
exemptions for content material posted
on its platform.
Twitter joins compatriots Amazon.com
Inc, fb Inc and fb-owned WhatsApp in
long being at loggerheads with the

3. administration of high Minister Narendra
Modi over information privacy payments
and guidelines some executives have
referred to as protectionist, however
anxiety has escalated in recent weeks.
Police visited Twitter last month to
inform it of a probe into the tagging of a
political tweet as "manipulated media",
and in February interrogated an
Amazon professional about the
doubtlessly unfavourable social impact
of a political drama. in the meantime,
WhatsApp is hard the authorities in
court docket over policies it said might
force it to access encrypted facts.
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4. "the worry is there," stated a senior tech
enterprise executive in India. "It weighs
each strategically and operationally."
There aren't any warning signs the
increasing run-ins have brought about
the put off or cancellation of planned
funding.
nonetheless, three senior executives
familiar with the contemplating
predominant U.S. tech corporations
said perceptions of India being an
opportunity, extra accessible boom
marketplace to China are converting,
and that longstanding plans for India's
role of their operations are being
reviewed.
"There continually was once these
discussions to make India a hub, but

5. this is being concept via now," stated
one of the executives, who works at a
U.S. tech company. "this sense is
throughout the board."
four different executives and advisors
also expressed difficulty about rising
anxiety. All declined to be identified due
to the sensitivity of the problem and due
to the fact discussions had been
personal.
Twitter, Amazon, fb, WhatsApp and
India's Ministry of Electronics and
information era did now not respond to
requests for remark.
incorrect information
The authorities has argued that its
regulations are had to stem the spread

6. of misinformation which could spark
violence - inclusive of in 2017 when
kidnapping rumours shared on
message apps together with WhatsApp
led to lynching. It also said the
guidelines are important to maintain big
era agencies liable for practices that
hurt home organizations or compromise
purchaser privacy.
India is a big marketplace for U.S. tech
giants. it is the most important
marketplace for both facebook and
WhatsApp with the aid of consumer
numbers, showed records from Statista,
and third for Twitter. Amazon has
committed as plenty as $6.five billion to
make investments in the country.
to attract small corporations through
WhatsApp, fb final year invested $5.7

7. billion in Reliance Industries Ltd's media
and telecommunications arm, Jio
platforms.
Alphabet Inc's Google also pumped
$4.five billion into Jio ultimate 12
months from a newly created $10 billion
fund earmarked for funding in India over
5 to seven years.
Compliance
The authorities has attempted to
stability attracting high-tech investment
with nationalist rules aimed at protecting
neighborhood organizations and, critics
say, advancing its political agenda.
A border war of words with China
prompted it to effectively ban chinese
language social media apps, which

8. includes TikTok and WeChat.
The authorities has also forced foreign
firms to save information regionally
towards fierce lobbying, and its
advertising of a home fee card
community caused mastercard Inc to
bitch
https://www.reuters.com/article/india-
credit card-idINKCN1N65IS to the U.S.
government about the use of
nationalism.
In 2019, compliance problems with new
regulations saw Amazon eliminate
hundreds of merchandise from its e-
commerce platform. The e-tailer is one
by one dealing with scrutiny by the
opposition fee of India for its retailing
practices.

9. Twitter publicly refused to comply with
some government demands to remove
content material, a stance which some
industry executives said may
additionally have aggravated its
modern-day state of affairs.
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WhatsApp has gone to court as
opposed to comply with a brand new
law requiring social media firms to trace
the starting place of dangerous or
criminal posts on their structures. The
message app operator said it can not
comply without breaking encryption,
even as observers said yielding should
spark off similar demands in other
nations.

10. at the same time, WhatsApp has
confronted regulatory delays that have
restrained its payment carrier to just
four% of its 500 million clients. however,
it is pressing beforehand with hiring for
a service it has known as a "globally
extensive" possibility.
government officials have shown little
patience for objections. IT minister Ravi
Shankar Prasad stated any robust
democracy need to have accountability
mechanisms, which include the ability to
pick out the originator of messages.
"A private agency sitting in the us have
to chorus from lecturing us on
democracy when you are denying your
customers the right to powerful
redressal discussion board," Prasad

11. stated in an interview with the Hindu
newspaper posted on Sunday.
nonetheless, endured antagonism
ought to imperil Modi's ambition of
making India a pass-to funding
destination.
"it's a query of what you will develop in
a three-to-five-12 months horizon,"
stated every other govt acquainted with
the thinking of U.S. firms. "Do you do
this in India or do you do that out of the
country. it truly is wherein the
communication is."