What’s the news: As many as six out of 10 Indians reported personal data breach by their loan service providers while four in 10 citizens blamed insurance service providers, said Local Circles, a community social media platform, in a report published on November 17, 2022. Earlier, citizens via the platform expressed that “the last mile interface” of financial institutions and telecom companies were the “top offenders” in compromising personal data. As per the report, Local Circles surveyed 41,000 citizens across 319 districts to study similar worries of the public. “Local Circles decided to conduct a detailed study on the financial sector from a data privacy breach standpoint so concerns and experiences of citizens across the country can be quantified and used as an input in the formation of the law,” said the platform. Why it matters: In August, the government withdrew the Personal Data Protection Bill and announced plans for a new version of the document. On November 18, the fourth version of the Bill was released. However, it had little to nothing to say about data breaches. In the meanwhile, people are becoming more aware about the lack of data protection regulation in India. Particularly, this report shows how the lack of governance is impacting the financial sector of India. Citizens suspect service providers and employees: When asked, 53 percent of 10,173 respondents stated “service providers of these entities sell and/or share personal data”. Another group of 43 percent respondents felt “entities themselves sell/ or share personal data.” As…
