Jio: Reliance Jio and Facebook differ on key issues

Bangalore | New Delhi: Facebook could find itself arguing with Reliance Jio in policy debates about how data is collected, stored and shared in India, legal experts said, as the two tech giants differ markedly in their stance on these issues.

The American social media company, which is paying $ 5.7 billion for a minority stake in the digital arm of India’s largest conglomerate, has opposed the Center’s demand that Indian data be stored locally. Reliance Industries President Mukesh Ambani, on the other hand, has been unequivocal that citizens’ data should be controlled and owned by Indians, and not by foreign corporations.

COS IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO DILUTE THE POSITION: EXPERTS

Opinions from Facebook and Reliance Jio also diverge sharply on the issue of providing private social network data access to law enforcement authorities.

Last year, Jio told the Indian Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (Trai) that all over-the-top (OTT) platforms should give full access to data, including decryption keys, to Indian police authorities. However, Facebook-owned WhatsApp has been battling requests from the Indian government to trace the origin of messages citing end-to-end encryption. The company believes that breaking the encryption would compromise user privacy.

In October, Facebook told the Supreme Court that it was not required to share user data with the Indian government.

Experts said that while the two companies may not dilute their stance, especially regarding encryption or data localization, they could coexist in many areas.

DISCUSSED DIFFERENCES

A person with direct knowledge of developments in the run-up to the mega deal said differences (on policy issues) were discussed before signing the deal. “During due diligence, we encountered such concerns. All the litigations that were (ongoing) and the political positions that both parties have taken were part of the disclosures, ”said the person. “But these problems are separate from the agreement, which is purely commercial. No policy conflict has hindered the deal. ”

In response to further questions on the matter, a Reliance Jio spokesperson referred ET to a previous response from Anshuman Thakur, Reliance’s chief strategy officer, who said Facebook and Jio are independent entities and “there will be areas where we will collaborate.” inside, but there will be areas where we will potentially not agree with each other either. ”

“Both organizations are very aware of consumer data and only make sure that consumer data is respected. And also, by complying with all regulations. There will be things where we will have a difference of opinion … but that’s the way it is, “Thakur said.

INDEPENDENT VIEWS

Facebook said the intention of its collaboration with Jio Platforms is to enable new opportunities for the millions of micro and small businesses in India. “We will continue to have independent views on a number of issues,” a Facebook spokesperson said in an email response.

The Facebook-Reliance Jio deal will go to the Indian Competition Commission (ITC) for approval amid concerns over data control, privacy and network neutrality.

Since its launch in September 2016, Jio has grown to be India’s largest telecommunications company with over 388 million subscribers. Facebook has more than 328 million users on its social network and more than 400 million users on its WhatsApp messaging platform in India.

Experts believe that while there are areas of contradiction, the mutual benefits will outweigh those.

“Facebook is unlikely to change its stance on issues like end-to-end encryption only for India and Jio, because it is a global company and its policies are standard across the world,” a former high-ranking bureaucrat told ET. “(Mukesh) Ambani also has strong views on issues like data localization, so it will be interesting to see how it unfolds,” the person added.

PRECEDENT OF ADJUSTMENT

Legal experts believe that FB’s stance of allowing access to law enforcement agencies and encryption will not change. “If they start giving access to law enforcement in India, it sets a precedent for other countries,” said Vrinda Bhandari, an attorney for the Supreme Court.

Last year, without specifically mentioning WhatsApp, Reliance Jio had told the government that many companies were employing end-to-end encryption under the guise of providing better security to users, and India must allow traceability on encrypted platforms. WhatsApp has resisted the government’s demand for traceability for two years.

Bhandari said that while Reliance Jio can mitigate its attack on WhatsApp, it will not back down in its demand that Indian data be stored locally. “Their business interests are much stronger than Facebook’s investment,” he said.

Anu Monga, a partner at Indus-Law, said the companies would have anticipated this problem by the end of the deal. “By lending different points of view to a debate, I don’t see it as one party that loses and the other that wins. But it will be interesting to observe the political positions presented by them now.”