Interview | India has got Data Bill right; it's a sound framework: Microsoft vice chairman Brad Smith
Data Bill «right», applying «strong protection» for personal data while allowing cross-border data flow, said Brad Smith, Microsoft's vice chairman and president. In an interview to ET, Smith, the second-ranking executive (after chairman and CEO Satya Nadella), called artificial intelligence the greatest advancement for human thinking since the invention of the printing press. Edited excerpts.
What are your preliminary thoughts about the data protection bill?
I would affirm what I said a year ago.
It was more important to get it right than to go fast. And the government has gotten it right. It's applying strong protection for personal digital data.
It's focused on the kinds of consent requirements while at the same time it allows data to cross borders, which is important because India serves the world in terms of data.
'India Better Poised Today Than Before'
It was smart to focus on personal data and not all kinds of data. Everyone will now focus on what comes next, which is the implementing regulations and with all such laws, there are a lot of details to come. It's a very sound and strong framework and consistent with international standards.
What are your broader views on this entire overhaul that India is undertaking when it comes to regulations that impact technology companies?
I would start with where India stands in the world when it comes to technology, especially AI, because that's been the most significant change in the last 12 months.
In many ways, India is even better poised today than before. This whole focus on digital public goods and digital public infrastructure is gaining momentum around the world. The refinement of the concepts in the past year reflects that the conversations that have been taking place
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