Amazon India reps have refused to appear before parliamentary panel on data privacy

Representatives of Amazon.com in India have refused to appear before a parliamentary panel reviewing the country’s privacy bill, an Indian lawmaker said on Friday, an allegation the US commerce giant said was a result of a misunderstanding.

Meenakshi Lekhi, head of a parliamentary panel which is reviewing the Indian government’s Personal Data Protection Bill, had said the officials’ refusal to appear before it on October 28 could lead to “coercive action” against the company.

Some industry executives say the bill could potentially hurt foreign tech firms and force them to change how they store data. As part of the panel’s deliberations, it regularly holds discussions with technology companies.