• TRAI said the Entities that control or process personal information and data are mere custodians and do not have primary rights over it.
• India’s telecom regulator also suggested that users be given the right to choose the information they want to share and be forgotten if they so desire.

• According to TRAI, the existing framework for protection of personal data of telecom consumers is not sufficient and hence all entities that process personal user data should be brought under a data protection framework.
• TRAI’s suggestions assume significance as a huge chunk of user data is being generated on smartphones.
• Telecom operators, who control the networks on which information flows, have the ability to analyse the contents.
• Data collated by mobile applications over a period of time can be used to profile people, which poses a risk to data privacy.
• TRAI also said  the right to choice, consent, data portability and the right to be forgotten ought to be given to consumers.
• These recommendations will also act as crucial inputs to the justice B.N. Srikrishna committee, set up by the government in July last year.
• The panel has been tasked with identifying overall data protection issues in India and recommending ways to address them.
• Additionally, the regulator has suggested that all entities in the digital ecosystem that control or process users’ personal data such as devices, operating systems, browsers as well as applications, be brought under a data protection framework.

• Established in 1997 by an Act of parliament to regulate telecom services. An independent regulator
• Its mandate is to deliver a fair and transparent environment for fair competition in telecom market.
• TRAI also fixes or revises the tariffs for telecom services in India.

The Hindu, LIveMint.