For safety reasons, personal numbers should not be shared with any retailer unless there is a valid reason for which they are requesting them.
The Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar has announced this, as he shared a citizen’s experience with a retailer.
Read on to find out all the details!
Do Not Share Personal Mobile Phone Number With Merchants: Union Minister
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, has advised consumers to withhold their personal mobile phone number from merchants unless they have a valid reason to do so.
An advocate for public health by the name of Dinesh S. Thakur tweeted about how he was asked for his phone number when purchasing chewing gum at the Delhi Airport, prompting the minister to offer his advice.
Union Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar responded to Mr. Thakur’s tweet by saying, “Do not give your mobile number if there is no legitimate need for a retailer to have it. After the DPDP bill is passed, the misuse of Indians’ digital personal data will end.
Phone Number Asked For Buying Gum?
As per Mr. Thakur, he was buying a pack of gum at a bookstore at the Delhi Airport. Here, he was asked for his phone number and on asking why, he was told that they need it for security purposes.
Mr. Thakur continued that when he asked what level of security was required to purchase a pack of gum, he was met with “empty stares everywhere.”
The manager was called in. “All he got was a lot of mumbles when I asked him how he thought I got through two screenings and if I posed a security risk.” He didn’t buy the pack of gum he admitted.
In addition, Dinesh S. Thakur said he was astounded to see so many passengers willingly sharing this information without even batting an eye.
In 2022, severe fines of up to 500 crore rupees can be imposed for personal data breaches, according to the DPDP Bill. It states that failure to implement reasonable security safeguards to protect data and prevent personal data breach will result in penalties for data processors and data fiduciaries.
