Only anonymised data for mobile phone data collection - MCMC

Summary

• The MCMC clarified that mobile phone data collected from telcos is anonymised and used solely for producing official statistics to support policymaking in the tourism and ICT sectors.

• It assured that no personally identifiable information is accessed or shared, and the initiative follows international best practices to protect user privacy.

The MCMC has assured that no personally identifiable data is being shared for the collection of mobile phone data.

This followed a South China Morning Post report earlier today that the commission has ordered telecommunications companies to submit their mobile users’ call and internet usage logs for the first three months of this year.

The MCMC said the data being collected is anonymised and emphasised that “no personally identifiable information is accessed, processed, or disclosed”.

It said telcos are given the option to process the data within their own secure environment and submit the required anonymised and aggregated output to the MCMC, or submit anonymised data to the MCMC for processing if they don’t have the ability to process the data in-house.

“In both cases, no individual subscriber can be identified through the data collected,” it said.

MCMC said the collection of mobile phone data is strictly for producing official statistics to support evidence-based policymaking in the tourism sector and the information and communication technology (ICT) sector.

In the tourism sector, the data is being used to generate indicators such as the number of visitors and domestic tourism trips.

In the ICT sector, the data is being used to produce granular statistics such as the number of active mobile broadband subscriptions and penetration rates at the state, district, parliamentary constituency, state constituency, local authority, and other levels.

The move followed two years of stakeholder engagement with all mobile network operators, which also involved representatives from the Statistics Department, Communications Ministry, Tourism, Art, and Culture Ministry, and the International Telecommunications Union.

“This initiative aligns with international best practices. It mirrors similar projects already implemented in countries such as Indonesia and Brazil, where anonymised telecommunications data is used to enhance national statistics while fully safeguarding user privacy,” it said.

According to the SCMP report earlier today, the MCMC had asked for data such as call records, IP call records, location, latitude, and longitude.

It reportedly warned telcos in an April letter that failure to comply is an offence under the MCMC Act 1998 and punishable with a fine up to RM20,000 or six months imprisonment.

The report noted that Malaysia has a poor track record for online and data security, and requiring telcos to send usage data of their customers could increase data security risks.

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