Mobile applications seeking access to user information not related to their function will be put under the consultation of TRAI for data privacy and security in the telecom sector. The Centre justified to the Supreme Court that user data is integral to the right to life and personal liberty guaranteed under the Constitution and it would come out with regulations to protect the same.
Information that a mobile app accesses should be relevant to its purpose, The ‘minimal information principle’ needs to be followed in normal course. “If an app has nothing to do with your, say, gender, then it should not ask for such information.
That is the principle,” Sharma said, citing an example. The TRAI chief declined to specify whether the consultation would result in norms or regulations around data privacy and security, saying it is “premature”.
Personal data is continuously being accessed by ‘rogue apps’ with consumers having no effective legal remedy, Duggal claimed, adding that Indian laws must establish cyber-security measures for apps.
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