PUTRAJAYA has no plans to scrap the Mobile Phone Data (MPD) initiative, as no privacy violations have occurred, says Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil.
He said the MPD is in line with Cabinet decisions, local laws and international standards.
“All necessary safety measures have been implemented and the government remains open to improving security mechanisms while continuously monitoring the initiative to maintain public confidence,” Fahmi said in response to Datuk Mohd Suhaimi Abdullah (PN-Langkawi) who asked whether the initiative would be cancelled.
Fahmi clarified that the MPD did not involve personally identifiable information and the data provided by mobile network operators (MNOs) was not classified as personal data under the Personal Data Protection Act 2010.
Talking tech: Fahmi visiting one of the booths at the International Connectivity Conference Expo in Kuala Lumpur. — RAJA FAISAL HISHAN/The Star
He also noted that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), Statistics Department and MNOs held a media briefing on June 9 to explain the initiative.
“The MCMC is aware of public concerns over privacy. However, the data shared by the MNOs is aggregated statistical output, not individual data.
“These statistics are processed internally in a secure environment before being shared with the MCMC,” Fahmi said.
He added that MPD provided accurate, granular and near real-time data to support policy planning in telecommunications and tourism, including a focus on Langkawi, in line with the initiative’s original mandate.
Earlier last month, the MCMC clarified that MNOs are only required to provide eight types of data for the MPD, none of which included names, MyKad numbers or phone numbers.
Mobile station international subscriber directory numbers, unique IDs and location data such as latitude and longitude are among the data collected.
