Companies need to respect data of consumers: Airtel CEO

Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Tuesday said companies need to respect data of consumers and should use such information only after seeking "explicit permissions" from them.

Bharti Airtel MD and CEO for India and South Asia, Gopal Vittal, said the company had access to various user data like the phone numbers they were connecting to, the duration of calls and the content that consumers browsed but assured that such information is not being misused.

"So, we have a credible repository of data. Our business model has a check and balance because our business model is predicated on subscription of services, rather than actually exploiting the data...we've been subjected to very strong regulatory oversight. We've been subjected to very strong laws of the land in terms of how we use the data," he said at the India Mobile Congress 2019.

He further stated: "I think it is incumbent upon all of us, representing the industry, whether it's the operator or the application provider or the device company to be very respectful of the data that we possess and to be explicit about the permissions that you seek from customers in order to use today."