The query comes against the backdrop of revelations by a whistleblower that CA had accessed data of millions of users. 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 and privacy law. This entire exercise on part of the government may assuage public concern but will not solve the underlying problem of the absence of a legal protection for data protection,” he added. A 10-member committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge BN Srikrishna is in the process of examining privacy and data protection issues and coming up with a draft legislation. The company also operates instant messaging app WhatsApp which recently introduced payments on its platform, giving the company access to financial data of Indian users.

Source: Hindustan Times March 28, 2018 14:03 UTC