The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill outlines the rights and duties of a citizen and the obligations of using data collected legally. (Photo: shutterstock)
MoS Rajeev Chandrashekhar after a netizen tweeted that he was asked to share his mobile phone number at a store at Delhi’s IGI airport… marketing companies to access customers’ data, said an expert Plays the ‘trust card’, which leads to abuse
Union Minister of State for Electronics & Information technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar has urged people on social media not to share their mobile number with a retailer if there is no “proper reason” after a Twitter user shared his experience at Delhi’s IGI airport.
Dinesh S Thakur, founder of an independent funding organisation, tweeted that when he went to buy a pack of gum at a bookstore at IGI airport, he was asked to share his phone number.
When he questioned the shopkeeper about the need to share his phone number, Thakur was told it was for “security purposes”. But, as the Twitter user explained, when he inquired further about the alleged security factor, he did not get a response.
Apparently, the manager of the store was called after the encounter with Thakur, who further said on Twitter “I was surprised that there were so many fellow travelers who obediently disclosed this information without batting an eyelid”.
Minister Chandrashekhar said: “The misuse of digital personal data of Indians will stop after the enactment of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill.”
The DPDP Bill outlines the rights and duties of a citizen and the fiduciary’s obligations to access legally collected data. It proposes to impose obligations on companies or data fiduciaries that set out the purposes and means of processing.
Additionally, the Bill also aims to regulate the entities that process such data, referred to as data processors, as per the decisions of the companies.
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News18 contacted mFilterIt founder and CEO Amit Relan, who said that using phone numbers for marketing purposes has become a common practice across the world including India.
“Retailers play the trust card by accessing first-party data of customers. To ensure that there is no doubt in the mind of the customer, they claim to provide a personalized experience and provide access to loyalty programs,” said Rylan.
But he also believes that the practice of collecting phone numbers leads to different types of abuse.
“Collected data is a goldmine, and is sold to third parties unauthorizedly. In some cases, it also leads to invasion of privacy and financial loss,” he said.
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