The right to privacy has to be honoured
We are deeply concerned by the news reported in this daily yesterday (December 14) of the telecom regulators collecting sensitive personal data of about 7 crore users without their consent. What's more, they have shared this data with another government agency, apparently for a survey. That this should occur only a few weeks before the parliamentary elections raises questions regarding the intention of such activity.
It is disconcerting that the concerned mobile operators were pressurised into handing over the information to BTRC (Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission) thereby breaching the confidentiality and trust of their customers. The report reveals that currently there is no privacy and data protection law in the country which is surprising as this may have serious implications in terms of an individual's right to privacy as well as regarding national security. How can we be sure that the personal information collected will not be misused?
What is even more worrying is that nobody seems to know which government body this information was really meant for and for what purpose. The BTRC representative at first said the data was for a survey by the power and energy ministry and later said it was for the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) while the state minister denied that the power and energy ministry had collected any such data at all. Even the BBS has denied collecting any data from BTRC. The Daily Star's investigation says otherwise—that the data was indeed collected from BTRC and given to BBS. Later the PM's power and energy adviser admitted that he had collected the data for a survey on power consumers' satisfaction.
Whatever the reason behind the collection of personal data from telecom companies, there is no doubt that this was a major breach in company-client confidentiality. It also violates the Telecommunications Act 2001 which prohibits the collection of customers' information without their consent.
We urge our government to investigate this issue and take action against the government bodies concerned that violated the law and have caused unnecessary anxiety among the public. Individuals have a right to privacy regarding their personal information on their devices. And the state has an obligation to protect that right.
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