Data securitisation: the challenges of data sovereignty in India

Abstract

The rules employed to govern cross-border data flows are in dispute, the outcome of which will certainly affect digitalisation policies in the so-called Global South. Against this backdrop, data localisation has become one of the most prominent and disputed policy measures for states seeking to regulate cross-border data flows. This article argues that data localisation can be understood as the product of a new type of resource securitisation, namely data securitisation. This process is shaped by a range of state-specific political and economic issues, and by the outcome of the pressure exerted by national and foreign interest groups. Specifically, the article examines the case of India, where a set of policy measures and initiatives introduced in 2018 began a set of strict data securitisation moves; however, their results were ambivalent. On the one hand, economically driven data localisation requirements have been softened by the stark lobby of foreign governments and transnational corporations, in tandem with local actors, illustrating the structural limits faced by Global South states’ sovereign digitalisation policies. On the other hand, a geopolitically driven data securitisation move against Chinese firms has been successful. The article concludes by outlining what lessons Global South actors can draw from this case.