English Edition | 28 March, 2021, 04:48 AM IST | E-Paper

Indian social media users more prone to data

breach
Synopsis
Experts say that lax rules on permissions which do not require them to seek explicit permissions from users, larger share of Android users
and unique social media habits put Indians at greater risk.

Rampant proliferation of the Android platform in India has also exposed people to greater risks, experts said.

NEW DELHI: India's millions of active Facebook and other social media users could be at a greater risk of user data
breach and of giving away more information about themselves on social platforms compared to users in other markets
due to weak rules and careless approach.

Lax rules and regulations for app developers and owners, which do not require them to seek explicit permissions from
users compared to other markets like Europe before downloading apps, rampant proliferation of the Android platform,
which enables apps to seek out a lot more information, and the unique social media habits of Indians are all factors that
put them at a greater risk, cyber and data security lawyers and industry experts told ET.

“App permissions and the way app developers and owners seek permissions from users before the latter download apps
varies with locations,” said Sivarama Krishnan, cyber security leader, India, at PwC. “Privacy regulations in Europe,
Singapore and other markets compel app owners to seek explicit and more speci c approvals from users who can be
more discerning while in India they take a blanket approval. Because of this, the risks could be higher in India,” he said.

The unique social media habits of Indians add to the risks. “Companies like Cambridge Analytica will have a eld day in
India as opposed to other markets as in the western world they need to create a footprint but in India they don’t need to.
Over 90% of the messages, status updates, photographs and wishes posted in India by users are in the public domain,”
Krishnan said.

Concerns are mounting globally over how much data Facebook has on users in the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica
data breach controversy with users attempting to download information on how much they have given away to the
platform.

In a response to ET’s queries, Facebook said its terms of agreements are the same everywhere and that contact uploading
is optional.

“In Messenger and Facebook Lite, people are expressly asked if they want to give permission to upload their contacts
from their phone — it's explained right there in the app when they get started,” the company said. “We already show
people what apps their accounts are connected to and control what data they’ve permitted those apps to use. Going
forward, we’re going to make these choices more prominent and easier to manage.”

Facebook had 217 million monthly users in India as per its quarter two reports last year.

Rampant proliferation of the Android platform in India has also exposed people to greater risks, experts said.

"Because of its inherent open source nature, Android has more vulnerabilities as compared to iOS, which is a closed
operating system,” said Tarun Pathak, associate director at Hong Kong-based Counterpoint Research. “And due to its vast
size — in terms of number of users, specially in markets like India — it is also a target for security related issues,” he said.

India has the highest number of Android users among key global markets, as per data from Counterpoint Research.
Android phones accounted for 98% of smartphones sold in the country in February, with iOS accounting for the rest.
Android's share was about 85% of smartphones sold in China last month, 75% in Europe and 58% in the US, with iPhones
accounting for the rest in all these markets.

The share of Android users in India would be on the higher side compared to iOS, even if one were to look at the 380
million smartphone user base in India, Counterpoint Research said.

Nikhil Narendran, partner at law rm Trilegal, said apps on the Android platform can access a lot more information than
iOS.

“It is a practice among Android apps/mobile companies to have access to this data so that they can build pro les around
you including your shopping preferences, spending patterns, etc. to direct ads and sell products,” he said. “The iOS
operating system does not allow call history and SMS details to most apps. Facebook, just like other Android apps, might
get more personal information on the Android platform. Facebook is also used to access other apps platforms and users
have the option to disable certain information but people don't usually notice,” Narendran said.

He said Indian users could be at a disadvantage not just because of the massive reach of the Android platform, but the
lack of understanding in dealing with Android app permissions. "Android gives users control, but they need to be very
technologically advanced to deal with Android app permissions correctly," Narendran said.
An app developer said, “Companies and handset makers can totally vary in how they deal with Android and its app and
system upgrades, so there is an assumption that Android and its sheer openness could expose users to greater risks as
opposed to a platform like iOS targeted at a handful of handset models.”

The absence of a data protection law in India to seek legal recourse makes matters worse, said Narendran. India is taking
the rst steps towards data protection and addressing security aws. A committee under former Justice BN Srikrishna,
which has been tasked with drafting the crucial legislation and framing data protection rules, has kicked o the public
consultation process in January.

“If there is a data breach in India, users don’t have a recourse whereas in other markets these companies are susceptible
to nes which could go up to a certain percentage of their annual turnover,” he said. “It is a huge liability for them, so
they take data more seriously in other markets than in India. Even countries like Singapore, Brazil and Hong Kong have
data protection laws, but we don’t," he added.

( Originally published on Mar 28, 2018 )

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