Ensure protection of user privacy, prevent abuse: IT Minister to tech firms

India has already forced foreign payment firms such as Mastercard Inc and Visa Inc to store data locally

Technology firms must protect user privacy and prevent abuse of their platforms, Union IT minister said on Thursday, speaking as the government draws up a data privacy law and seeks to push companies to store more data locally.

Information and Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said he wanted Indians to have access to more technology platforms but said this should not undermine user privacy.

"I have only one caveat - it must be safe and secure, it must safeguard the privacy rights of the individual and you must make extra efforts that people don't abuse the system," Prasad told industry executives at