KUALA LUMPUR: Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil has challenged critics over perceived double standards regarding the government’s mobile data-sharing policy.
His remarks follow public backlash against the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission’s (MCMC) directive requiring telcos to share call data from January to March this year.
Fahmi, who also serves as the MADANI Government spokesperson, clarified that the data request was meant to assist the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) in national data collection.
He pointed out that while concerns over privacy are valid, similar scrutiny is rarely applied to tech companies that routinely harvest user data.
“We rarely question the data we freely provide to social media platforms, search engines, and AI models daily,” he said during his speech at the International Connectivity Conference and Expo 2025.
He cited Google’s recent US$314 million fine for collecting data from 14 million Californian users without consent as an example of unchecked corporate data practices.
The minister stressed that the MCMC’s request excludes personally identifiable information, focusing instead on network quality, user engagement, and regional usage trends.
This data, he explained, supports evidence-based policymaking, particularly in improving digital infrastructure. – Bernama
