Amazon to skip parliament committee on Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019; says experts overseas

If no one from Amazon appears before the committee on October 28, a coercive action will be initiated, said a source from parliament, the report informed.

The committee, looking into the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, had called stakeholders including Facebook and Twitter to get an overview, following concerns expressed by Congress, said the report.

BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi, who heads the panel, has told the media that Amazon's action will amount to breach of privilege.

Media reports said top Facebook India officials appeared before the parliamentary panel today and questioned for nearly two hours. The social media giant was represented by its public policy director Ankhi Das.

The NDTV report said the concerned representatives of Twitter will appear before the panel on October 28, while Google and PayTM have been asked to be present on October 29.

While presenting the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 in Parliament last year, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said it empowers the government to ask companies - Facebook, Google and others -for anonymous personal and non-personal data. The Congress had expressed concern over the use of such data, especially where national security is concerned.

However, several legal experts had raised questions over the unaccounted access to personal data of users. Following the concerns, the matter was referred to the joint parliamentary committee headed by Lekhi.