The government has asked controversial data analytics and political consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica to explain whether it has been engaged in any assignment that utilised the data of Indians from the Facebook breach.
The notice to Cambridge Analytica also sought an immediate response on which entities have engaged it for such assignments, how it came to be in possession of such data, whether consent was obtained from the individuals concerned, and how such data collected was used.
It also threatened legal action against companies and individuals that have misused information and sought to influence elections in the country.
Cambridge Analytica is under scrutiny for allegedly harvesting data from millions of Facebook users to influence elections globally, including the 2016 US presidential race.
“The fairness of Indian democracy and electoral process is a matter of pride and any attempt to influence the sanctity of the electoral franchise through dubious and questionable means is unacceptable,” the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) said in a release on Friday. “In particular, all intermediaries and their associates have the legal obligation to maintain security, confidentiality, and sanctity of data, and any unauthorised use of data can entail legal action.”
The government’s notice to the British analytics firm included queries on its engagement, entities it worked with, how it sourced user data, whether it sought consent from users, and whether there was any user profiling.
“While the government is cognizant of the positive role played by social media in promoting awareness and acting as a tool for social cohesion and empowerment, breach of privacy cannot be tolerated,” the statement said.
Both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress have accused each other of contracting Cambridge Analytica and its Indian affiliate Ovleno Business Intelligence to profile voters using their Facebook data and influence the outcome of elections.
Cambridge Analytica has listed the work it did in the 2010 Bihar elections as a case study on its website. Ovleno, which has shut its website, had claimed that it worked for the JDU, Congress, and BJP.
On Wednesday, Union IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had said the government was open to an enquiry and if needed could also summon Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for an explanation.
Zuckerberg has already apologised for the mistakes his company made in handling data belonging to users and has promised tougher steps to restrict access to such information.
CERT-IN issued an advisory explaining security best practices to be followed by social media users in order to safeguard personally identifiable information on social network sites
The controversy has revived the debate over data protection and privacy laws in India as the country currently lacks a robust framework to handle such breaches. The government had last year set up a panel led by former Supreme Court Justice BN Srikrishna to recommend measures that could be included in a data protection bill.
