Russian Firms Propose Amendments to Law Allowing Free Transfer of Personal Data - Reports

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th August, 2018) A group of representatives of Russian businesses has proposed amendments to Federal legislation allowing companies to share their customers personal data with other firms without the consumers' knowledge, local media reported.

The Vedomosti newspaper reported that the proposed amendments to the law on personal data had been submitted by the Skolkovo Foundation to a working group on the legal regulation of the digital economy. The proposal will either be approved or sent back to Skolkovo for review.

Any company which had initially collected personal data would be responsible for storing it, but the firm would have to inform their customers about the list of companies with which it planned to share their information, the newspaper added, citing the proposed amendments.

The draft proposal would also empower customers to ask a company where their information was transferred to. However, customers would only be able to revoke their initial data processing agreement, not have the right to prohibit the transfer of their personal details to other companies.

According to the outlet, the amendments are meant to simplify the process of obtaining data processing agreements from a customer in order to increase the number of services offered to them. Critics, however, have said that, if adopted, the amendments would significantly limit a persons control over his or her data.

Russian law currently allows only companies that have collected personal data the power to process it. Using personal details for marketing purposes without customer consent is prohibited.