NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi has expressed serious concern over data hijacking and alleged manipulation of user information by global internet and social media giants. According to top sources OF TOI, PM Modi has instructed that data sharing should be regulated and servers must be located within the country.

The issue tabled for discussion during a recent meeting of the Union Cabinet Chaired by PM Modi.In this meeting the episode of data breach and manipulation by Facebook and UK-based Cambridge Analytica was raised, according to sources.

"The PM said that servers that house data of millions of users should be located within India. The issue was thereafter discussed within the IT ministry which carried out a thorough review last week," as Per the top source of TOI.

The mainstream of user data generated on platforms of top social media giants such as Google, Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram is stored across servers located worldwide. In addition, access to these servers with the information they embrace, is vastly regulated by US laws and certain international agreements.

Questions sent to Google, Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram on the subject of their plans for having local servers with steps initiated towards data security till now remained unanswered.

The sources stated the issue is being followed on "top priority" by the government.

"The PM has said that instruments should be established to ensure that user information is increasingly stored locally, and that its sharing is regulated. Data protection is of utmost concern in a highly-digital society... "

A major concern of the IT ministry is that user data does not get distorted for any kind of manipulation, including for 'medaling' electoral processes in India.

"An inquiry is already on regarding the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica episode where data may have been manipulated during polls. The government also wants to look into the other aspects related to data protection," told sources.

The PM's data breach call for local servers comes days after banking regulator RBI mandated that all payment system operators have to store data within the country by September. The move of RBI will also impact Google and WhatsApp as they have knocked the domestic digital payments sector.