Twitter and the Indian Railways and Travel Services Corporation (IRCTC) have been asked to appear before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology led by MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday. The microblogging site and rail ticketing app was convened to discuss concerns about “citizens’ data privacy and security”. The parliamentary meeting comes days after the center withdrew the Personal Data Protection (PDP) Bill 2019. It will now be replaced by a new bill.
As informed to PTI by sources, the parliamentary panel headed by Tharoor will question Twitter management and its composition. The social media platform can also be questioned about whether it extends incentives to a particular political party.
Meanwhile, IRCTC, with over 10 crore users, hired a consultant to monetize passenger data. The panel may seek answers to the rationale for hiring consultants. IRCTC can also question about the auction floating to hire for the consultant’s work, the sources said.
According to the sources, the panel led by Tharoor held meetings with various stakeholders on data security and privacy. These include technology companies, social media companies, ministries and other regulatory bodies. The panel will likely complete its report by 30 August.
Earlier this month, the coalition government led by Information and Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced withdraw the Personal Data Protection (PDP) Bill, 2019. The law will now be replaced by a “comprehensive bill” for “modern digital privacy law”.
