Amazon refuses to appear before Indian parliamentary panel on data privacy: MP

Representatives of Amazon.com Inc in India have refused to appear before a parliamentary panel reviewing the country’s privacy bill, an Indian lawmaker said, an allegation the U.S. 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 Oct. 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.
“Amazon is doing huge business in India … If it doesn’t appear before the committee, coercive action may be initiated against it,” said Lekhi, without explaining what the action could be.