MCMC clarifies phone data use, ensures user privacy

The Sun

07-06-2025

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has clarified its collection of mobile phone data (MPD) from Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), assuring that no Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is accessed, processed, or disclosed. The clarification comes amid recent media reports regarding the matter.
In a statement today, MCMC said MPD was used strictly for the generation of official statistics to support evidence-based policymaking in two key domains, namely the ICT Sector and the Tourism Sector.
For the ICT Sector, MPD helps produce granular statistics, such as the number of active mobile broadband subscriptions and penetration rates at the state, district, mukim, parliamentary constituency, state legislative assembly (DUN), and local authority levels. For the Tourism Sector, it generates indicators such as the number of visitors and domestic tourism trips.
'The MPD data requested from MNOs is anonymised and contains no PII.
'In addition, MNOs are given the option to either process the MPD data within their own secure environment and submit the required anonymised and aggregated output to MCMC, or, for MNOs without in-house processing capabilities, to submit the anonymised data to MCMC for processing.
'In both cases, no individual subscriber can be identified through the data collected,' it said.
MCMC further clarified that the use of MPD as a new source of national statistics was a strategic direction set by the government to strengthen the quality and timeliness of statistical outputs for policy and planning purposes.
Implementation of MPD is through collaboration with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the UN Committee of Experts on Big Data and Data Science, it added.
Over the past two years, MCMC said extensive engagement with all MNOs had been carried out to ensure mutual understanding of the data requirements, processes, and privacy safeguards.
These included the MPD National Workshop held from Sept 2 to 5, 2024, attended by representatives from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Ministry of Communications, Ministry of Tourism, Art and Culture, and MNOs (CelcomDigi, Maxis, TM Tech, U Mobile, and YTL).
'This initiative aligns with international best practices. It mirrors similar projects already implemented in countries such as Indonesia and Brazil, where anonymised telecommunications data is used to enhance national statistics while fully safeguarding user privacy,' it said.