Countering richest Indian Mukesh Ambani, Facebook Inc on Thursday said data is t new oil, and countries like India should allow its free flow across borders inste of attempting to hoard it as a finite commodity within national boundaries.

Data sharing is crucial, says Facebook

Facebook Vice-President, Global Affairs and Communications, Nick Clegg said data sharing is crucial for national security as India right w finds itself "locked out" of major global data-sharing initiatives aimed to clamp down on serious crime and terrorism. India should create a new template for internet that "respects rights of individuals to choose what happens to ir data; one that encours competition and invation; and one that remains open and accessible for everyone," he said. Chairman of Reliance Industries Mukesh Ambani h stated that "data is new oil" as he propagated protection of Indian users' data generated through use of internet as well as social media platforms, saying country's data must be controlled and owned by Indian people and t by corporates, especially global corporations.

"re are many in India and around world who think of data as new oil and that, like oil having a great reserve of it held within your national boundaries, will le to surefire prosperity. But this analogy is mistaken," Clegg said at an event here.

RE: Facebook Tightens Policies To Prevent Self-harm, Suicide Ims

"Data isn't oil  a finite commodity to be owned and tred, pumped from ground and burned in cars and factories. Of course, analogy is perfect, but a better liquid to liken it to is water, with global internet like a great borderless ocean of currents and tides," he said.

value of data, he said, comes t from "hoarding it" or tring it like a finite commodity, but from allowing it to flow freely and encouraging invation that comes from that free flow of data - algorithms and services and intelligence that can be built on top of it.

"It is that invation that has potential to bring much greater wealth to India and it is that invation that will place India, with its entrepreneurial society and its bedrock of engineering talent, at forefront of global internet for deces to come," he said. Clegg said to contain data within geographical boundaries and restricting its flow outside country would be to "turn this great ocean of invation into a still lake."

RE: Facebook Apparently Facing Newer Investigations, After Record Fine

" global internet is built on this principle of cross-border data flows just as global ecomy relies on capital, human resources and techlogical invation to cross borders in order to flourish," he said. Stating that it was t just global ecomy that relies on data sharing across borders, he said data-sharing was crucial for national security too.

"Yet, right w India finds itself locked out of major global data-sharing initiatives aimed to clamp down on serious crime and terrorism, like Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act and Budapest Convention on Cyber Crime," he said.

Reliance AGM 2019| Reliance Industries Limited To Be Zero-net Debt Company In 18 Months: Mukesh Ambani

Debate on data sharing

remarks came amid a raging debate in country over wher data of Indians is safe with foreign companies, as government is working on crafting data protection rules. Reserve Bank of India last year imposed data localization rms on foreign fintech companies to locally store data of Indians. Facebook, which is looking at launching payment services through its unit WhatsApp in India, and global firms such as Mastercard, Visa, PayPal, Google and Amazon h sought relaxation in regulation on data localization. India is home to 400 million WhatsApp users and more than 328 million Facebook users. Facebook executive, however, said while national security is a major priority for Indian government, inhibiting global data sharing is an issue of conflict of laws between US and India.

"In our view, a major priority for US and India should be to revive ir bilateral relationship on cyber co-operation and for India to seek access to se existing mechanisms for data sharing. w is t time to drift furr apart, w is time to get around table and agree on a data-sharing relationship that suits both sides," he said.

Mark Zuckerberg's Harvard Roommate And Facebook Co-founder Chris Hughes Desperately Wants Facebook Broken Up: Report

He went on to state that India finds itself at a crossros as internet matures. " decisions it makes in months and years ahe will likely do more to shape global internet or end it than those me by any or country," he said. Of course, India is t responsible for actions of rest of world. But eyes of world are upon it and its decisions could have a domi effect as smaller countries wrestle with similar decisions, he ded. India, he said, could follow Chinese model, furr entrenching fracturing of global internet.

"Between se two great nations, China and India, a third of world's population would be detached from rest of global internet and a great precedent would be set for or nations. And in a few short years re may t be such a thing as a global internet at all," he said.

RE: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Confident About Launching Libra Cryptocurrency Amid Concerns And Criticism From Experts

"And some countries would use India as a precedent to justify even more restrictive laws, cutting ir citizens off from benefits of an open internet," he said. Or inste, India can choose to work with its natural allies in open, democratic world to help shape an internet that respects rights of individuals; promotes competition and invation; and remains open and accessible for all." he ded.