Now, customer data privacy concerns surround Ola

Bengaluru, April 25 Ola Electric customer Balwant Singh has objected to use of his e-scooter telemetry data in the EV manufacturer’s press statement released on April 22.

In an email to Ola, Singh wrote, “You are hereby notified to take down the telemetry data of my scooter bearing No. AS-25T-7020 from your social media accounts across the internet namely Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc at the earliest failure to which I will be bound to take legal action against your company.”

Earlier on April 15, Singh tweeted that a fault in Ola’s electric scooter brakes has led to his son’s accident. In response to his claim, Ola released a statement carrying minute-by-minute data of his scooter’s speed around the time of the accident. “The data clearly show that the rider was overspeeding throughout the night and that he braked in a panic, thereby losing control of the vehicle. There is nothing wrong with the vehicle,” the statement read.

Breach of privacy pact

Singh’s email noted that he had signed an agreement with Ola of sharing data only for private access. “This posting of telemetry data online in the public medium is a breach of privacy agreement between me (User) and Ola Electric (seller). I have never authorised Ola Electric to reveal my data in public,” he added. 

Commenting on the case, Kazim Rizvi, Founding Director of public policy think tank, The Dialogue, told BusinessLine, “There is potentially a breach of privacy in this case. Even though the PDP (Personal Data Protection) Bill is not in place, Ola Electric’s privacy policy characterises telematic data like information on performance, operations and usage of products as personal information. Disclosure in a press release may not constitute disclosure in accordance to Ola’s privacy policy.”

Rizvi added that if Ola had to disclose this information, it is provisioned in the policy that it must take consent from the data principal (Balwant Singh/customer) clearly and transparently. “Even though the PDP is not yet in place, the data principal (Balwant Singh/customer) may take action for breach of contract since the privacy policy does not allow for this conduct and action for potential violation of the IT Act,” he said.

However, Shreya Suri, Partner, IndusLaw, said, “the publishing of the telemetric data by Ola in this situation can be argued to be in the interest of Ola to resolve legal conflict and for an issue of public importance, provided that privacy policy was communicated to and accepted by the vehicle owner at the relevant stage.” 

Ola’s privacy policy

Ola’s privacy policy which is available on the Ola Electric website noted that Ola has a right to use and process the collected personal information for its legitimate interests and other reasonable purposes such as enforcing or protecting its contractual or other legal right or to bring or defend legal proceedings. Ola has also secured a right within its privacy policy to disclose the collected personal data for issues of public importance, and where necessary to protect its interest, resolve legal conflict, enforce its terms and conditions, investigate fraud or even to protect its users.

Commenting on the legality of collecting telemetry data, Yashojit Mitra, Partner, Economic Laws Practice, said,  “We understand that telemetry data enable the vehicle manufacturers’ to collect data relating to performance of the vehicle. It appears that Ola tracks the vehicle sensor data and receives it real time. The sensor data so collected by Ola, is of the vehicle per se and is not in the nature of any personal identifiable information of Balwant Singh’s son, which the data protection laws seek to protect in India. Therefore, in the present context of applicable Indian laws, collection of vehicle telemetry data in India per se may not be considered illegal.”

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