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The global digital economy is no longer just about technology – it’s about control. The more a nation controls its digital infrastructure and platforms, the more influence it has over global advertising flows and user behavior.
Nations are not only competing to become digitally advanced, but are also fighting for the right to be sovereign in the digital world. While China has built self-sufficient digital fortresses, India remains heavily dependent on foreign platforms for advertising and data.
Eastern Data–Western Computing has initiated an investment of USD 6.1 billion for domestic data centres. Tencent’s digital infrastructure has seen investments of USD 70 billion focused on cloud computing and data platforms. The Digital Silk Road has directed around USD 79 billion toward overseas digital infrastructure projects.
In contrast, India is still building its digital infrastructure through both domestic and foreign investments, totaling around USD 60 billion in data centres by 2024, with projections exceeding USD 100 billion by 2027 – though it remains largely backed by global players such as AWS, Microsoft, and others. This raises urgent questions: Who controls Indian user data, and where is Indian advertising headed? To answer them, we must first understand what digital sovereignty means.
Digital sovereignty refers to the ability of a country to manage its digital infrastructure independently and remain free from foreign control.
For the advertising industry, this means
– Placing ads on domestic platforms.
– Ensure that all data remains within national borders.
– Keeping advertising revenue in their own country.
– Setting guidelines that are in line with national interests
This is not just a technical concept — it has strategic economic and geopolitical weight. Without digital sovereignty, countries run the risk of becoming digital colonies of multinational tech giants. If control remains in foreign hands, global tech giants will continue to drain the nation’s wealth.
India and China both have digitized rapidly and built ecosystems with over a billion users. But their approaches to sovereignty are completely different:
– China: a closed, government-controlled digital ecosystem
– India: An open, globalized approach with growing local ambitions
Let’s break down how both countries are shaping this transformation.
China has banned platforms such as Google, Facebook and YouTube. In their place, local giants such as Baidu, Tencent and Alibaba have flourished and dominate everything from search to e-commerce.
Chinese ads are placed almost exclusively through domestic platforms, keeping user data and ad revenue within the country’s borders.
China mandates data localisation, meaning that all data generated by users must remain within the country. The government ensures strict monitoring to ensure compliance.
India opened its doors to global tech companies and sped up its digital development However, more than 70% of India’s digital advertising spend now goes to foreign-owned platforms such as Google and Meta.
Platforms like InMobi, ShareChat and Glance are growing – but they are lagging behind their global counterparts in terms of infrastructure, scale and brand trust.
India’s Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, is an important step, but it remains less stringent than the Chinese model.
When brands advertise, companies like Meta and Google earn a lot—even agencies, ad networks, and cloud providers make money. But since these platforms dominate the Indian market, India loses control over its ad revenue and user data, which hurts the economy. Ad spend from India goes abroad instead of helping local businesses.
As per projections for 2025,
Google India is expected to earn around USD 4.7 billion
Meta India is expected to earn around USD 3.5 billion
Combined, this shows how much value is leaving India’s economy.
More than 90% of China’s advertising revenue stays within the national ecosystem. This ensures that every yuan spent on digital advertising strengthens local businesses.
More than 70% of India’s digital advertising spend leaves the country via foreign-owned platforms. This not only leads to a huge loss of revenue, but also to the transfer of user data and influence abroad.
India is now starting to take measures to prevent advertising money from flowing abroad. Local ad tech platforms such as InMobi, ShareChat and Glance are on the rise.
InMobi: InMobi is India’s first unicorn in the mobile advertising space, using AI to enable brands to engage with customers via their mobile phones.
ShareChat: Social media platform is available in 15 local languages and has more than 350 million monthly active users.
Glance: Indian Platform displays engaging content on the lock screen of more than 450 million devices worldwide.
These are platforms based on indigenous languages and enriched with cultural meaning, often in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, and are also compliant with India’s Data Protection Act. But for them to continue, they need support — such as clearer rules from the government, more money and trust from big brands.
|
Aspect
|
China
|
India
|
|---|---|---|
Yes — but now India must focus on these strategic priorities,
India does not need to close its digital borders like China — but it needs to create protective guardrails to prevent dependencies and data exploitation.
India and China are taking two completely different routes to achieve digital sovereignty:
If India wants to protect its data, keep ad revenues in the country, and maintain digital freedom, then digital sovereignty must become a top national priority — before the window of opportunity closes.
The global digital economy is no longer just about technology – it’s about control. The more a nation controls its digital infrastructure and platforms, the more influence it has over global advertising flows and user behavior.
Nations are not only competing to become digitally advanced, but are also fighting for the right to be sovereign in the digital world. While China has built self-sufficient digital fortresses, India remains heavily dependent on foreign platforms for advertising and data.
Eastern Data–Western Computing has initiated an investment of USD 6.1 billion for domestic data centres. Tencent’s digital infrastructure has seen investments of USD 70 billion focused on cloud computing and data platforms. The Digital Silk Road has directed around USD 79 billion toward overseas digital infrastructure projects.
In contrast, India is still building its digital infrastructure through both domestic and foreign investments, totaling around USD 60 billion in data centres by 2024, with projections exceeding USD 100 billion by 2027 – though it remains largely backed by global players such as AWS, Microsoft, and others. This raises urgent questions: Who controls Indian user data, and where is Indian advertising headed? To answer them, we must first understand what digital sovereignty means.
Digital sovereignty refers to the ability of a country to manage its digital infrastructure independently and remain free from foreign control.
For the advertising industry, this means
– Placing ads on domestic platforms.
– Ensure that all data remains within national borders.
– Keeping advertising revenue in their own country.
– Setting guidelines that are in line with national interests
This is not just a technical concept — it has strategic economic and geopolitical weight. Without digital sovereignty, countries run the risk of becoming digital colonies of multinational tech giants. If control remains in foreign hands, global tech giants will continue to drain the nation’s wealth.
India and China both have digitized rapidly and built ecosystems with over a billion users. But their approaches to sovereignty are completely different:
– China: a closed, government-controlled digital ecosystem
– India: An open, globalized approach with growing local ambitions
Let’s break down how both countries are shaping this transformation.
China has banned platforms such as Google, Facebook and YouTube. In their place, local giants such as Baidu, Tencent and Alibaba have flourished and dominate everything from search to e-commerce.
Chinese ads are placed almost exclusively through domestic platforms, keeping user data and ad revenue within the country’s borders.
China mandates data localisation, meaning that all data generated by users must remain within the country. The government ensures strict monitoring to ensure compliance.
India opened its doors to global tech companies and sped up its digital development However, more than 70% of India’s digital advertising spend now goes to foreign-owned platforms such as Google and Meta.
Platforms like InMobi, ShareChat and Glance are growing – but they are lagging behind their global counterparts in terms of infrastructure, scale and brand trust.
India’s Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, is an important step, but it remains less stringent than the Chinese model.
When brands advertise, companies like Meta and Google earn a lot—even agencies, ad networks, and cloud providers make money. But since these platforms dominate the Indian market, India loses control over its ad revenue and user data, which hurts the economy. Ad spend from India goes abroad instead of helping local businesses.
As per projections for 2025,
Google India is expected to earn around USD 4.7 billion
Meta India is expected to earn around USD 3.5 billion
Combined, this shows how much value is leaving India’s economy.
More than 90% of China’s advertising revenue stays within the national ecosystem. This ensures that every yuan spent on digital advertising strengthens local businesses.
More than 70% of India’s digital advertising spend leaves the country via foreign-owned platforms. This not only leads to a huge loss of revenue, but also to the transfer of user data and influence abroad.
India is now starting to take measures to prevent advertising money from flowing abroad. Local ad tech platforms such as InMobi, ShareChat and Glance are on the rise.
InMobi: InMobi is India’s first unicorn in the mobile advertising space, using AI to enable brands to engage with customers via their mobile phones.
ShareChat: Social media platform is available in 15 local languages and has more than 350 million monthly active users.
Glance: Indian Platform displays engaging content on the lock screen of more than 450 million devices worldwide.
These are platforms based on indigenous languages and enriched with cultural meaning, often in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, and are also compliant with India’s Data Protection Act. But for them to continue, they need support — such as clearer rules from the government, more money and trust from big brands.
|
Aspect
|
China
|
India
|
|---|---|---|
Yes — but now India must focus on these strategic priorities,
India does not need to close its digital borders like China — but it needs to create protective guardrails to prevent dependencies and data exploitation.
India and China are taking two completely different routes to achieve digital sovereignty:
If India wants to protect its data, keep ad revenues in the country, and maintain digital freedom, then digital sovereignty must become a top national priority — before the window of opportunity closes.