TRA’s comments on the TRAI’s consultation paper on Privacy, Security and Ownership of Data in the Telecom Sector
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (“TRAI”) released a consultation paper on ‘Privacy, Security and Ownership of the Data in the Telecom Sector’ (“the Consultation Paper”) on 9th August, 2017.
The Consultation Paper is available here. Our detailed comments are available here. Comments from other stakeholders can be accessed here.
In brief, our submissions were:
- Creation of data sandboxes for the ‘development of newer services’.
- Data sandboxes may be created for the ‘development of newer services’. Regulated companies may place aggregated, anonymized information in data sandboxes. Personal un-aggregated information may not be placed within such sandboxes.
- Our opinion finds consonance in Justice Chandrachud’s plurality judgment in Justice K S Puttaswamy Union of India. The judgment observed “encouraging innovation and the spread of knowledge as a legitimate aim of the state”.
- For clarity of enforcement, “regulated companies” and “newer services” need to be defined by the government.
- It is also necessary to prevent the use of aforesaid data sandboxes for “extraneous purposes”.
- Creating parity between TSP’s and other communication service providers offering comparable services.
- Issues of data protection and data privacy principles for redressal of those issues are not contingent on the means of communication.
- There is no need to distinguish between data protection norms applicable to telecom and internet service providers (“TSP”) and other communication service providers (such as Internet-based voice and messaging services).
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