NEW DELHI: Amazon’s decision to “refuse” to appear before a joint committee of Parliament on the grounds that its officials were unavailable was heavily criticized by panel members, and its boss, BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi, said that a motion of privilege would be filed against the e-commerce giant.
The panel on the Personal Data Protection Bill had called Amazon on October 28, but in an email sent to the committee on October 7, Amazon’s director of public policy, Garima Rathore, said the company has decided not to attend the meeting and said that the “subject matter experts” were based abroad and could not travel due to the risks involved due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Our experts in the field are based abroad and will not be able to appear for the declaration. Therefore, we will have to decline the request for this statement, ”Rathore said in an email that began cheerfully with a greeting of“ I hope you are doing well ”. The panel members were surprised by the response, noting that the company could have looked for another date.
For the next panel sessions on October 28 and 29, the panel has convened Twitter, Amazon, Paytm and Google. Expressing his disgust at Amazon’s refusal to appear, Lekhi said: “If no one shows up, it amounts to a violation of privileges. The panel is unanimous in their opinion that enforcement action against the e-commerce company can be suggested to the government. ”
The panel members also expressed surprise that although India is among Amazon’s largest markets, the company does not have data security officials stationed in the country.
The panel on the Personal Data Protection Bill had called Amazon on October 28, but in an email sent to the committee on October 7, Amazon’s director of public policy, Garima Rathore, said the company has decided not to attend the meeting and said that the “subject matter experts” were based abroad and could not travel due to the risks involved due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Our experts in the field are based abroad and will not be able to appear for the declaration. Therefore, we will have to decline the request for this statement, ”Rathore said in an email that began cheerfully with a greeting of“ I hope you are doing well ”. The panel members were surprised by the response, noting that the company could have looked for another date.
For the next panel sessions on October 28 and 29, the panel has convened Twitter, Amazon, Paytm and Google. Expressing his disgust at Amazon’s refusal to appear, Lekhi said: “If no one shows up, it amounts to a violation of privileges. The panel is unanimous in their opinion that enforcement action against the e-commerce company can be suggested to the government. ”
The panel members also expressed surprise that although India is among Amazon’s largest markets, the company does not have data security officials stationed in the country.
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