Govt asks FB if data of Indians was misused
NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday asked Facebook Inc to clarify whether the company or any of its associates or partners that has access to user data had engaged in the manipulation of elections, according to a statement issued by the ministry of electronics and IT.
The government release said the ministry sent a letter to the company asking what “proactive measures are being taken to ensure the safety, security and privacy of such large user data and to prevent its misuse by any third party?” and whether the personal data of Indian voters was “compromised by Cambridge Analytica” or any other entity. Facebook has been asked to respond to the questions by April 7. The query comes against the backdrop of revelations by a whistleblower that CA had accessed data of millions of users.
This data was allegedly used to influence the outcomes of the Brexit poll and the US presidential election. The same whistleblower said that he “believes” CA was retained by the Indian National Congress, a charge the Congress has denied. Hindustan Times has previously reported, referencing the website of CA’S Indian partner that has since been taken down, that the company claims to have worked for both the Congress and the BJP in India. A parliamentary panel on IT has asked ministry officials to appear before it on April 6 and respond to queries on “citizens data security and privacy”, BJP lawmaker and chairman of the committee Anurag Thakur said.
On March 23, the government issued a notice to political marketing firm Cambridge Analytica seeking details of an alleged data breach and attempts to influence election outcomes. FB said it is working hard to tackle past abuse and prevent it in the future.
“We are strongly committed to protecting people’s information. As Mark Zuckerberg has said, we are working hard to tackle past abuse and prevent future abuse. We appreciate the opportunity to answer questions the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology has raised, as we continue our review of the situation,” a Facebook India spokesperson said in response to an email query. Experts however said that the government’s questionnaire may not yield much except showing it is serious about data misuse and stressed on the need for a strong data protection. Apar Gupta, a Delhi-based lawyer and cyber media law expert, said the govts communiqué to the social media company is not a legal request and does not originate from any clear basis in law.