Data security and privacy are the top priority for the government, which is already following global best practices, telecom minister Manoj Sinha said at the second Economic Times India Mobile Conclave here on Thursday.
“Data security and privacy will be a key facet of the upcoming National Telecom Policy 2018 and I’m certain that the legal framework being formulated by the Justice Srikrishna Committee will fully secure the country’s data,” the minister said.
The BN Srikrishna Committee is preparing the crucial legislation and framing data protection rules and started the public consultation process in January. It is likely to submit the draft of the law soon.
All companies are welcome to operate in India, but they should not compromise the data of Indians, minister for electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
“We want India to become a big hub of data analysis. Therefore, we need to have a balance between data safety and security and innovation,” he said. On Wednesday, Prasad had warned Facebook that misuse of data of Indians to influence the electoral process would not be tolerated. He reiterated that he is “not taking on” Facebook and that he is proud that 250 million Indians are part of the world’s biggest social network, which is a sign of empowerment.
“Facebook is most welcome in India and I am happy that they are reinforcing their architecture, but companies like Cambridge (Analytica) have no place because they have publicly claimed that they misused the system to influence the voters,” Prasad said.
Facebook came under fire after the revelation that British data firm Cambridge Analytica illegally collected the data of 50 million people and allegedly influenced voting, including the 2016 US Presidential election. Founder Mark Zuckerberg has vowed to work towards addressing privacy concerns.
Issues such as data ownership, privacy and security are extremely important, said RS Sharma, chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. He said there are devices, pipes, operating systems and other players that collect a huge amount of data in the telecom sector and Trai has issued a consultation paper on how data can be regulated.
“I agree the problem is urgent. The problem is also difficult because thus far we have not dealt with these kinds of problems,” Sharma said.
Telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan said the policy will also look into data sovereignty, where individuals have choice and control over their security and the same goes for enterprises. “The data protection legislation under the Srikrishna committee is work in progress, which will indicate the principles to be kept in mind that will ensure that data protection of the individual is assured.”