New Delhi:Telecom regulator Trai is studying the issue of protection of privacy and ownership when an individual needs to share personal information while downloading and using an app. To download an app, one has to follow the terms and conditions such as sharing of personal information like location, contacts list and pictures.
On declining the condition, you can’t use the app. The regulator also wants to find out whether personal data while using the phone is effectively protected and not exploited or monetized. It also wants to know whether individuals need to have ownership of their shared information and have a right to access it whenever they want to.
In a consultation paper, ‘Privacy, Security and Ownership of the Data in the Telecom Sector’, the regulator has raised a series of questions on how privacy of data should be protected and whether there should be a closer scrutiny of the manner in which data is exploited by companies and other agencies through monetization as well as segregation of user data, reports TOI.
“While recognizing the vast business and efficiency potential of data analytics, it is also vital to assess whether the data protection rights of individuals are being adequately protected in this changing environment. Data protection in this context can be broadly understood to mean the ability of individuals to understand and control the manner in which information pertaining to them can be accessed and used by others,” the consultation paper says.
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On ownership of the data being generated by individuals, it raises concerns questioning: “Should the user’s consent be taken before sharing his her personal data for commercial purpose? What are the measures that should be considered in to empower users to own and take control of his/her personal data? In particular, what are the new capabilities that must be granted to consumers over the use of their personal data?”
Trai has also sought comments on the manner in which app makers solicit personal information, especially when much of it may not have any direct co-relation with the service being offered by them.
“The permission granted by the user to allow access to these various categories of information is often given under circumstances where the user does not fully understand the implication of granting the consent. Moreover, the one-sided nature of these arrangements with an uneven bargaining power between the provider and the user implies that the user often does not have an effective choice in the matter –the app may not available for use without authorising those permissions,” the consultation paper added.