Telcos ordered to ensure ‘secure’ handling of data in SIM registration

The National Privacy Commission (NPC) ordered telecommunication companies to ensure “secure” handling of data in light of the implementation of the SIM Card Registration Act.

The NPC said it met with telecommunication companies to address the public’s data privacy concerns over the SIM Registration Act on Thursday.

Privacy Commissioner John Henry Naga called the meeting to discuss these concerns, including the “notices and tick-boxes that may be displayed on telcos’ websites and mobile applications asking for the users’ permission or consent in using their personal data submitted for marketing, profiling, or sharing with third-party partners.”

Naga directed telcos to include on a separate page the notices and tick-boxes that are not related to SIM Card Registration, particularly those on data sharing with third-party entities.

He also urged the telcos to include modifications and improvements on their websites and applications to further comply with the Data Privacy Act of 2012.

“Telcos must ensure the secure, ethical, and responsible handling of data, especially in all data processing being conducted in compliance with the SIM Registration Act,” he said in a statement released on Friday.

“Their obligation to comply with the SIM Registration Act comes hand-in-hand with ensuring that data privacy and protection is upheld. Such includes the implementation of mechanisms that would allow the assurance to its data subjects that the data being collected are for the purposes of the SIM Card Registration,” he added.

Naga said the commission will coordinate with the telcos for proper implementation of the law.

“The commission maintains that protecting citizens’ privacy and ensuring that data privacy rights of mobile users are upheld as one of the cornerstones for the successful implementation of SIM Card Registration,” he said.

"The commission will continue to closely coordinate with Telcos and other stakeholders for the proper implementation of the law,” he added.

Over two million million SIM cards have been registered by the country's major telecommunications companies over the first two days of the mandated listing, the telcos said in separate statements on Wednesday. — DVM, GMA Integrated News