Parliament panel grills Twitter officials over data security, privacy
They also evaded questions about data safety and privacy, a member said, following which they were reprimanded by the MPs.
A parliamentary panel Friday questioned top Twitter officials over a whistle-blower's revelations on its India operations, and gave them a dressing-down as their replies on issue of data security and privacy were "not satisfactory", sources said.
Top Twitter executives including Senior Director (Public Policy) Samiran Gupta, Director (Public Policy) Shagufta Kamran deposed before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information and Technology chaired by senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.
The panel questioned them about the reports on former head of Twitter (security) Peiter Zatko's allegations the microblogging site knowingly allowed the Indian government to place its "agents" on the company payroll where they had "direct unsupervised access to the company's systems and user data".
The Twitter officials denied any such thing having happened and refused there was any data security breach in India, sources in the panel said.
The members also questioned the social media giant's officials if their data security policies is in synch with local policies and with the single global privacy policy.
They also asked how does the microblogging site handles conflicts in national privacy policies of different countries, with the sources saying the executives didn't give satisfactory replies.
They also evaded questions about data safety and privacy, a member said, following which they were reprimanded by the MPs.
Zatko's allegations were reported by international media houses.
Twitter has already stated it was a "false narrative" and the allegations and "opportunistic" timing appear designed to capture attention and inflict harm on the company, its customers and its shareholders.
The Tharoor-led panel has been holding meetings with various stakeholders including tech companies, social media firms, ministries and other regulators on the issue of citizens' data security and privacy.
The parliamentary committee is also working on a comprehensive report on data privacy and security.
Besides Tharoor, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram, TMC MP Mahua Moitra, TRS MP Ranjith Reddy, BJP's Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and CPI(M)'s John Brittas attended the meeting.
Get Latest Business News, Stock Market Updates and Videos; Check your tax outgo through Income Tax Calculator and save money through our Personal Finance coverage. Check Business Breaking News Live on Zee Business Twitter and Facebook. Subscribe on YouTube.
RECOMMENDED STORIES
Senior Citizen Latest FD Rates: Know what major banks like SBI, PNB, Canara Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank are providing on fixed deposits
Gratuity Calculator: Rs 38,000 as last-drawn basic salary, 5 years and 5 months of service; what will be gratuity amount?
Retirement Planning: In how many years your Rs 25K monthly SIP investment will grow to Rs 8.8 cr | See calculations
Top 5 Small Cap Mutual Funds with best SIP returns in 1 year: See how Rs 25,000 monthly investment has grown in each scheme
Top 7 SBI Mutual Funds With Best SIP Returns in 1 Year: Rs 25,000 monthly SIP investment in No.1 fund has jumped to Rs 3,58,404
SBI 5-Year FD vs MIS: Which can offer higher returns on a Rs 2,00,000 investment over 5 years? See calculations
08:47 PM IST