Apps Should Collect Minimal Data Like Aadhaar Does: TRAI Chief

Apps Should Collect Minimal Data Like Aadhaar Does: TRAI Chief

Photo Credit: Facebook/ TRAI

Advertisement

TRAI Chairman RS Sharma has said that apps should collect minimal data just as UIDAI does to give 12-digit Aadhaar numbers to people.

Some apps are ridiculously collecting more-than-required data and the customers are unaware of what is being done with it, he said.

"For Aadhaar enrolment, we collect just four set of data - your name, date of birth and your communication address. Nothing more, nothing less. Similarly every app must collect as much data as is required," Sharma told ET Now in an interview in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

"Data minimisation should be one of the principles just as Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) adopts to collect data of people," he said.

TRAI had noted that the existing framework of data protection of telecom consumers is "not sufficient" and that all entities in the digital ecosystem which handle personal data should be brought under a data protection framework. These recommendations are expected to have wide reaching implications for tech titans like Apple and Facebook as well as apps like Paytm.

Asked whether the DoT has powers to create rules or regulations proposed by TRAI, Sharma said it is for the government to decide. Asked whether TRAI has power to implement such rules before the government legislates them, Sharma said he has the jurisdiction to protect consumers' interest in telecom sector. Sharma said, there is regulatory imbalance because these entities are not following any law and till the government comes up with a broad framework, it is but prudent to apply telecom rules on them.

Replying to a query, Sharma said TRAI is not for applying same encryption standards for different sectors including telecom or Aadhaar. "There are different rules for different sectors. For example in telecoms, the maximum encryption is proposed to be 40 bits. UIDAI has highest level of encryption where it is 2048 bits. So, what we are saying is that probably there is a need to have a general policy on encryption and we are not saying that we should apply same encryption standard," he said.

Sharma said the encryption standard should be proportional to the security that needs to be achieved.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: RS Sharma, TRAI, Aadhaar, UIDAI, User Data
Nokia X5 With Display Notch, Dual Rear Cameras Launched: Price, Specifications
Tesla's Elon Musk Apologises for His Comments on British Caver
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »