Govt again defends mobile data collection plan as privacy-compliant
The government has reiterated its commitment to protecting citizen privacy whilst defending its controversial Mobile Phone Data (MPD) initiative, following fresh parliamentary query over the programme's scope and safeguards.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said that the programme, approved by the cabinet on April 19, 2023, allows government agencies to utilise aggregated mobile phone data as a new source for producing official national statistics.
Summary
Fahmi reiterates that the mobile phone data initiative only collects anonymised, aggregated statistics from mobile network operators for official statistics in telecommunications and tourism sectors.
The communications minister emphasises that no personally identifiable information is collected and the programme complies with privacy laws.
The government has reiterated its commitment to protecting citizen privacy whilst defending its controversial Mobile Phone Data (MPD) initiative, following fresh parliamentary query over the programme's scope and safeguards.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said that the programme, approved by the cabinet on April 19, 2023, allows government agencies to utilise aggregated mobile phone data as a new source for producing official national statistics.
"The implementation involves the Statistics Department (DOSM), the Economy Ministry, in cooperation with MCMC.
"Engagement processes were conducted with industry experts, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and international bodies such as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to ensure the initiative aligns with all best practices, including global-level practices.
"The information provided by MNO companies under the MPD initiative also does not fall under the category of personal data as interpreted under Section 4 of the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (Act 709).
“Based on confirmation from the Personal Data Protection Department through a letter dated July 7, it found that customer identity/personal data under the MPD Initiative is not directly disclosed and the identity of data subjects cannot be identified,” Fahmi said.
“Therefore, data shared by MNOs to MCMC is not subject to provisions under Act 709," he said in a parliamentary written reply.
He was responding to questions from Nazri Abu Hassan (PN-Merbok), who sought clarification on existing policies that permit government agencies to collect citizens' telephone data and how the ministry ensures constitutional privacy rights remain protected.
Int’l best practices
He explained that the DOSM is also a member of the expert committee in the United Nations Committee of Experts on Big Data and Data Science for Official Statistics (UN-CEBD) which is chaired by the ITU.
"The UN-CEBD Committee has developed and recommended international best practices that the MPD Initiative be used as a new data source for producing the nation's official statistics.
"The MPD initiative policy has sound regulatory mechanisms because the initiative does not involve collecting Personally Identifiable Information (PII).
“Instead, the information provided by MNOs is only in the form of aggregated statistics and not individual data or PII information. These statistics are generated through internal processing by the MNOs themselves in a secure environment, before being shared with MCMC.
"Consequently, the implementation of the MPD Initiative is a process conducted in compliance with all legal requirements, thus any privacy rights or individual freedoms under the Federal Constitution are always guaranteed," Fahmi added.
In June, Fahmi had assured that telecommunications companies would not be handing over information containing personal data to MCMC, following concerns raised over personal data security.
The minister explained that MCMC’s move to collect mobile phone data is to obtain detailed information regarding service quality, service levels, and the number of users within specific districts or sub-districts.
MCMC also clarified that telecommunication companies can process the data within their secure environment and submit the required anonymised and aggregated output to the commission, or submit anonymised data to them for processing.
It added that there is no option for mobile users to opt out of the ongoing pilot project.
The response followed a South China Morning Post report that the commission has ordered telecommunications companies to submit their mobile users’ call and internet usage logs for the first three months of this year.
The MCMC said the data being collected is anonymised and emphasised that “no personally identifiable information is accessed, processed, or disclosed”.
Legal concerns
Previously, the Malaysian Bar had also raised concerns over the programme, citing public trust deficit in the government’s data handling.
Bar president Ezri Abdul Wahab requested that Putrajaya address the trust deficit through mandating MCMC and participating mobile network operators to publicly disclose the specific standards, methodologies, and safeguards applied to ensure effective anonymisation and aggregation of mobile phone data.
Last month, MCA appointed human rights lawyer Edmund Bon to defend party member Wong Siew Mun, who faces legal action from MCMC, after questioning the said mobile data collection programme.
Wong had, in her TikTok video in June, questioned the MCMC’s order for telecommunications companies to provide detailed records about their users’ phone and internet usage.
Since then, police have questioned her and confiscated her phone.
