Privacy of information: Users must be protected

The pictures surfacing in multinational telecommunication company Telenor’s survey, ‘Digital Lives Decoded’, are both positive and negative. 

The positive side is the living standards of 91 per cent cellphone users being improved. This information bears proof of how much a cellphone can change people’s lives.

Earlier most women used to live indoors, so they didn’t think about wage earning. Now they can run small enterprises with the help of mobile phones.

Mobile phones have brought about revolutionary changes to women’s lives. Men’s lives were changed as well, but less in comparison.

Five impacts on 8000 cellphone users in eight countries including Bangladesh, have been highlighted. These include improved living standards, increased use of cellphones and failure to cope, among other effects.

According to Telenor’s survey, 67 per cent women and 62 per cent men have said that cellphone technology has contributed in creating education opportunities.

Compared to men, cellphone connections have generated alternative employment and earning scopes for women. That means women are advancing in all sectors.

Despite these positive sides, the alarming information surfacing in the survey is that as much as 97 per cent of the cellphone users are concerned about privacy and security.

Just as the modern information technology has improved people’s living standards; it has also driven them into apprehension and anxiety.

The level of this anxiety is not the same for people of all generations. People, who are comparatively older, are more worried over privacy.

Among the mobile internet users of Bangladesh, 89 per cent people belonging to the baby boomers generation (born in between World War II and the 60s) are more concerned about privacy and security.

Apart from that, 78 per cent of the generation x (born in between late 70s and 80s), 74 per cent of the millenniums (born in between late 80s and mid 90s) and 70 per cent of the generation z (born in between 1995 and 2000) are concerned as well.

All personal information of the internet users is stored with the service providing companies. Privacy and security are disrupted for two reasons. First, if the company provides that information to a third party. Second, the company itself also uses the information in its own interest.

There are allegations that sometimes even the government agencies gather personal information of mobile phone users from the companies.

In either case, customers are the one falling victim to harassment. Here, none of the parties can break the personal confidentiality contract between the service provider and the customers. Doing so is a punishable crime by the law.

The solution for many cellphone users complaining about not being able to cope up with information technology is to train them on this.

Yasir Azman, chief executive officer of Grameenphone has advised on adding the issue of cyber security in textbooks with importance.

He also recommended increasing cyber awareness also in villages alongside cities.

The government can ponder upon these issues with concern. Cyber security, which has turned into an essential part of almost every individual’s lives, the necessity of educating people on this topic, cannot be denied.

And a large portion of the cellphone users is in the villages, so we believe it to be vital for cyber awareness to be employed there as well.

Above all, every cellphone user has to be provided with information safety. Not even the government can use that information without a court order.