Facebook Rebuts Mukesh Claim On ‘Data Is New Oil'

FACEBOOK on Thursday hit out at richest Indian Mukesh Ambani’s comment on data being the new oil, saying on the contrary it was more like water and countries like India should allow its free flow across borders instead of attempting to hoard it.

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“There are many in India and around the world who think of data as the new oil and that, like oil, having a great reserve of it held within your national boundaries will lead to surefire prosperity. But this analogy is mistaken,” said Facebook vice-president, global affairs and communications, Nick Clegg, at an event here.

Data isn't oil, a finite commodity to be owned and traded, pumped from the ground and burned in cars and factories. A better liquid to liken it to is water, with the global internet like a great borderless ocean of currents and tides, he said.

His comments reignite the debate around data localisation which has split companies down the middle, while the government is working on fleshing out the India’s first data protection law.

Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, was among the eminent people who had opposed the sharing of data and supported data localisation.