MCMC: No User Privacy Breach in Government’s Mobile Data Collection

PETALING JAYA, June 6 — The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has assured the public that user privacy will not be compromised in the government’s collection of mobile phone data from mobile network operators.

In a statement released Friday night, the MCMC emphasized that no personally identifiable information (PII) will be accessed, processed, or disclosed. The data, it said, is strictly used to produce official statistics for evidence-based policymaking in the information and communications technology (ICT) and tourism sectors.

According to MCMC, the data will help generate granular ICT statistics, such as active mobile broadband subscriptions and penetration rates across various levels — from state to local authority areas. For the tourism sector, it will be used to estimate figures like the number of visitors and domestic tourism trips.

“The data requested from mobile network operators is anonymized and contains no PII,” MCMC stated.

Operators have the option to process the data within their own secure systems and submit aggregated outputs to MCMC. Alternatively, those without internal processing capabilities may submit anonymized data to MCMC for processing. In both cases, no individual subscriber can be identified.

The Mobile Phone Data (MPD) initiative is part of a broader national strategy to improve the quality and timeliness of statistical outputs. It is carried out in collaboration with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the UN Committee of Experts on Big Data and Data Science.

MCMC said that over the past two years, extensive engagement with mobile network providers — including CelcomDigi, Maxis, TM Tech, U Mobile, and YTL — has taken place to ensure mutual understanding of data requirements and privacy safeguards. One such effort was the MPD National Workshop held in September 2024, attended by key stakeholders including the Statistics Department and relevant ministries.

MCMC noted that the project aligns with international best practices, pointing to similar efforts in countries like Indonesia and Brazil, where anonymized telecommunications data is used to enhance national statistics while protecting user privacy.