Govt to prevent data misuse: Draft e-comm policy
The draft has stated that sharing of data for industrial development would be encouraged and regulations for data will be provided for the sharing mechanism.
New Delhi: The government would lay down principles for usage of data for the development of any industry, where such norms do not already exist, and put in place adequate safeguards to prevent misuse and access of data by unauthorized persons, according to a draft national e-commerce policy. The government is in the process of developing regulations for personal and non-personal data, the policy, which is under discussion, said.
The draft has stated that sharing of data for industrial development would be encouraged and regulations for data will be provided for the sharing mechanism.
According to the draft, the government acknowledges the importance of data as an asset and needs to use data emanating from India for “Indian entities first”.
An inter-ministerial meeting was held on Saturday to deliberate upon this draft.
For free and informed choice, it said that e-commerce operators would have to ensure that algorithms used by them, are not biased and that no discrimination due to digitally induced biases is prevalent.
“Consumers have a right to be made aware of all relevant details about the goods and services offered for sale including country of origin, value addition in India, and any other such information which may be necessary for making an informed decision at the pre-purchase stage,” it said.
To promote fair competition, the draft said that e-commerce operators must ensure equal treatment of all sellers/vendors registered on their platforms and not adopt algorithms which result in prioritizing select vendors/sellers.
It said the operators have to bring out clear and transparent policies on discounts, including the basis of discount rates funded by platforms for different products or suppliers and implications of participation or non-participation in discount schemes, so as to ensure fair and equal treatment.
Further, to eliminate counterfeit products from online platforms, it said the companies would create adequate safeguards to ensure that products offered are genuine and the liability for counterfeit products would be “jointly and severally” of the online firm and the seller. In order to ensure that e-commerce is not used to defraud customers, registration with an authority identified by the government would be made mandatory, it added.
A body of industry stakeholders and identified trusted parties will be created that would identify “rogue e-commerce entities”, meaning those firms that host predominantly pirated content. These rogue e-commerce entities shall be included in the ‘Infringing e-Commerce Entities’ (IEE). Internet service providers shall remove or disable access to the websites identified in the IEE within the set time-lines,” it said.
The policy would cover all modes of e-commerce – inventory, marketplace and hybrid model and it would be equally applicable to entities, natural and /or legal with foreign and domestic investments, the 9-page draft of the DPIIT said.
To promote exports through e-commerce, it said India Post will develop a specialized, low cost, and trackable solution targeted at e-commerce exporters for small products, with committed timelines for express delivery.
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