Syllabus: GS2/Polity and Governance
Context
- Global power structures have shifted from control over physical assets (oil, chokepoints) to Digital sovereignty.
- A nation’s digital footprint is now the primary source of wealth and the most effective tool of diplomacy.
Digital Sovereignty
- It involves creating legal and regulatory structures that ensure sovereign control over data exports and unhindered rights to regulate the national digital space.
- It is the physical layer (infrastructure, technology), the code layer (standards, rules and design) and the data layer (ownership, flows and use).
- Pillars of Digital Sovereignty:
- Data Sovereignty: Data generated in India is stored, processed, and governed under Indian laws.
- Technological Sovereignty: Indigenous capacity in chips, networks, AI, cybersecurity, and cloud.
- Platform Sovereignty: Reducing reliance on foreign social media, e-commerce, and digital platforms.
- Cyber Sovereignty: Ability to secure cyberspace and enforce laws within national digital boundaries.
- Regulatory Sovereignty: Independent digital policy and rule-making.
Why Does Digital Sovereignty Matters?
- India’s Growing Economy: India’s digital economy is projected to reach $1 trillion by 2025, making it one of the world’s largest data generators.
- With over 800 million internet users and growing, the volume of personal data being generated, processed, and stored is astronomical.
- This has attracted global technology giants, but it has also raised questions about data sovereignty and national security.
- National Security: When critical personal data of Indian citizens is stored in foreign jurisdictions, it becomes subject to foreign laws and potentially foreign surveillance, creating vulnerabilities in India’s national security framework.
- Increasing Cyber Threats: In an age where data breaches and cyber warfare are real threats, having critical data within national borders ensures better incident response and more control over security measures.
- Economic Interests: It effectively creates a robust domestic data centre industry. This not only generates employment and technological expertise but also reduces dependency on foreign infrastructure.
- Improved Data Management: By keeping data within the country, it can be more easily monitored and audited to prevent misuse or breaches.
- Global Power Dynamics: Nations with strong digital capabilities emerge as rule-setters in global governance.
Challenges to Digital Sovereignty
- Big Tech Dominance: Over-reliance on U.S. and Chinese digital platforms.
- Global Interconnectedness: Internet’s borderless nature makes regulation difficult.
- Global Business Impact: There are concerns that strict localisation requirements could increase operational costs for businesses, potentially hampering innovation and foreign investment.
- Compliance Burden: Businesses may face legal and regulatory complexity in adhering to multiple localization laws, especially when dealing with cross-border data transfers.
- Technological Dependence: India imports semiconductors, telecom equipment, operating systems, cloud architecture.
- Lack of Skilled Workforce: Shortage in cybersecurity, chip design, quantum computing.
Government Initiatives
- Digital Competition Bill (Draft, 2024): It aims to prevent anti-competitive practices by Big Tech firms and seeks to curb self-preferencing, data misuse, and gatekeeping by large digital platforms.
- Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023: It establishes data protection rights for users and mandates consent-based data processing and penalties for misuse.
- Competition (Amendment) Act, 2023: It strengthens powers of the Competition Commission of India (CCI).
- Targets digital market monopolies and enables faster investigation into anti-competitive conduct.
- Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021: Mandates grievance redressal, traceability, and transparency in content moderation. It also ensures platform accountability for user harm or misinformation.
- Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC): It is designed to democratize e-commerce by creating an open, interoperable network.
- Digital India Initiative: Focuses on inclusive digital access, cybersecurity, and digital literacy — empowering citizens to make informed digital choices.
Way Ahead
- Balancing Sovereignty with Openness: Effective digital sovereignty frameworks must balance legitimate security and privacy concerns with the need for interoperability and global cooperation.
- Privacy as a Human Right: This framing empowers governments to establish higher protection standards based on citizens’ dignity and constitutional traditions rather than market efficiency pressures.
- Regulation of Big Tech through transparent, democratically accountable mechanisms that prevent digital monopolies while protecting innovation.
- International Cooperation on Security with clear laws defining prohibited data transfers and conditions for exceptions, accompanied by transparency and oversight mechanisms to prevent surveillance abuse.
Conclusion
- India must resolutely pursue the path of digital sovereignty—creating legal and regulatory structures that ensure sovereign control over data exports while maintaining unhindered rights to regulate the national digital space.
- India’s approach to data protection and localisation reflects both its sovereign aspirations and the practical challenges of managing its vast digital footprint.
Source: IE
