New Delhi: Trai’s recent recommendations on data privacy and ownership framework are “valuable and timely”, and the Department of Telecom (DoT) will have to take “institutional view” of the matter, telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan said.

“DoT will have to take an institutional view... but this is very much in line with what the courts have said in the matter and what the government has already said on protecting privacy and data rights of individuals,” Ms. Sundararajan told PTI.

Speaking on the sidelines of an event, she said that Trai’s assertion that data belongs to users is in sync with the current narrative of Indian telecom market, that places customers and users at the centerstage. “What Trai has said about data belonging to users is in line with what’s emerging in Indian market, overall...that is...putting customers and users in the centre,” she said.

Trai’s recommendations and inputs are extremely “valuable and timely”, She said adding that Justice B.N. Sri Krishna panel too is expected to finalise its report on data privacy law shortly.

TRAI chairman R.S. Sharma recently said that mobile devices and apps are like ‘faucets’ to the telecom pipe and should be subjected to similar rules as telecom operators till an overarching data protection law is put in place to safeguard consumer rights.    

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