IT dept notice to Hyderabad firm over violation of personal data norms

IT department calls it a violation of norms if shops insist on collecting personal phone numbers of customers without their consent. Vijay Gopal, a resident of Tarnaka, complained that the staff at Decathlon's Malakpet shops insisted that his personal phone number was mandatory for paying the bill.

HYDERABAD: Taking a serious view of personal data violations, the Income Tax department has warned a Hyderabad-based firm of stringent action if they insisted on collecting personal phone numbers of customers without their consent. The IT officials said that pressing for personal data without the user's consent is a violation of the rules.

The IT department has warned the Decathlon firm located in Malakpet here that necessary action will be taken if such incidents are repeated. Vijay Gopal, a resident of Tarnaka in the city, recently shopped at Decathlon in Malakpet. He complained to the IT department, saying that the staff at Decathlon insisted that his personal phone number was mandatory for paying the bill.

The IT department disapproved of the personal data collection, saying that this is against the norms governing sensitive personal data and information. Show cause notices were issued to the said company. However, plaintiff Vijay Gopal opined that if a penalty of Rs. 25 thousand is imposed instead of just issuing cautionary notices, companies will not repeat such violations.

It may be recalled that phone calls from some call centers are annoying the city dwellers these days. The firms collect personal phone numbers from different sources and make unsolicited calls. The phone calls that come day in and day out are surely a botheration for one and all.

It is reliably learnt that the phone numbers of shoppers being collected by shopping malls and commercial establishments in the city are diverted to call centers. Eventually, this is leading to frauds and many people are losing lakhs of rupees as they fall into the trap laid by cyber criminals. Consumers are facing serious problems as their personal information is being sold like a commodity in the market. Now the IT department has become serious about this.