Furore erupts around PM Modi’s app over alleged data sharing

Allegations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official mobile
application was sending personal user data to a third party without
their consent caused a furore on social media in India and drew
criticism from the leader of the opposition Congress party on
Sunday (Mar 25).

Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party denied the allegations and
said the data was being used only for analytics to offer all users
the “most contextual content”.

A security researcher, who has previously highlighted some
vulnerabilities in India’s national identity card project and who
tweets under the pseudonym Elliot Alderson, posted a series of
tweets on Saturday stating the app was sending personal user data
to a third-party domain that was traced to an American company.

The tweets, which come at a time of heightened sensitivity
around the alleged misuse of personal data amid the unfolding
Facebook-Cambridge Analytica controversy, triggered a stir in India
on social media.

“Hi! My name is Narendra Modi. I am India’s Prime Minister. When
you sign up for my official App, I give all your data to my friends
in American companies,” wrote opposition Congress party Chief Rahul
Gandhi in a Twitter message on Sunday.

The BJP quickly responded on Twitter, saying Gandhi was trying
to divert attention. The BJP has accused the Congress of engaging
Cambridge Analytica in India, a charge the opposition party has
denied.

Alderson, who initially pointed out that the Narendra Modi app
was sharing data with a third party without the consent of users,
earlier on Sunday posted a new tweet saying the app had “quietly”
updated its privacy policy after his previous tweets.

Reuters could not independently verify Alderson’s claim.

Prime Minister Modi has not commented on the issue.

BJP said the app – which has seen about 5 million downloads on
the Google Android Play Store – allows users access even in a guest
mode that does not require them to grant any permissions.

“The permissions required are all … cause-specific,” the BJP
tweeted.

Source: Reuters/ec/zl

Allegations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official mobile
application was sending personal user data to a third party without
their consent caused a furore on social media in India and drew
criticism from the leader of the opposition Congress party on
Sunday (Mar 25).

Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party denied the allegations and
said the data was being used only for analytics to offer all users
the “most contextual content”.

A security researcher, who has previously highlighted some
vulnerabilities in India’s national identity card project and who
tweets under the pseudonym Elliot Alderson, posted a series of
tweets on Saturday stating the app was sending personal user data
to a third-party domain that was traced to an American company.

The tweets, which come at a time of heightened sensitivity
around the alleged misuse of personal data amid the unfolding
Facebook-Cambridge Analytica controversy, triggered a stir in India
on social media.

“Hi! My name is Narendra Modi. I am India’s Prime Minister. When
you sign up for my official App, I give all your data to my friends
in American companies,” wrote opposition Congress party Chief Rahul
Gandhi in a Twitter message on Sunday.

The BJP quickly responded on Twitter, saying Gandhi was trying
to divert attention. The BJP has accused the Congress of engaging
Cambridge Analytica in India, a charge the opposition party has
denied.

Alderson, who initially pointed out that the Narendra Modi app
was sharing data with a third party without the consent of users,
earlier on Sunday posted a new tweet saying the app had “quietly”
updated its privacy policy after his previous tweets.

Reuters could not independently verify Alderson’s claim.

Prime Minister Modi has not commented on the issue.

BJP said the app – which has seen about 5 million downloads on
the Google Android Play Store – allows users access even in a guest
mode that does not require them to grant any permissions.

“The permissions required are all … cause-specific,” the BJP
tweeted.

Source: Reuters/ec/zl