British banks circumvent laws that ban export of personal data
Monday, 05 January 2004, 20:30 IST
Printer Print Email Email
London, Jan 4 (IANS) British banks and companies outsourcing to India have reportedly been circumventing laws that ban the export of personal information of customers out of Britain. Concern is mounting over the increasing transfer of personal information to India as call centres working for British companies contact customers in Britain. According to the Data Protection Act, such information should be used only in countries with "adequate legal protection", which effectively means the European Union and a select list of nations with tough laws and the enforcement to back them up. India is not on the list but financial services firms have been sending this data abroad. According to Iain Bourne, strategic policy manager at the Government's Data Protection Registry: "Companies have found ways round the law. They often use a contractual relationship with the Indian subsidiary or subcontractor that binds them to acting as if the UK's law was in force. "We have had few complaints from consumers, so we think that, by and large, this means it is being handled well." However, Simon Davies, director of human rights group Privacy International, is upset and says that the Data Protection Act was just "a load of holes strung together". He told the local media: "Companies have been secretly shifting data for years and refusing to talk about it, but the movement of call centres and data processing to India illustrates the failings of the act with vicious clarity. "The further away from the source of the data it is moved, the more likely it is that corruption will creep in. To say that no complaints equals no problems is totally ludicrous." Prudential, Aviva, HSBC and Reuters have shifted thousands of jobs to the subcontinent. HSBC claims it has permission from customers, thanks to a set of revised conditions it sent to customers in 1998 and 1999. A spokesman said the data remained on its Britain-based computer systems. Meanwhile, Barclays bank is set to announce a groundbreaking agreement with banking union Unifi aimed at minimising compulsory redundancies if jobs are transferred to India. The bank says it has no plans to move jobs abroad, but admits it is looking at the option. Unifi believes the move is inevitable and estimates that 6,000 jobs at Barclays could ultimately be affected. Barclays has promised to consult Unifi at least six months before any jobs are transferred overseas. The union has also agreed to a deal that ensures that Barclays will work only with companies in India that observe human rights and do not exploit its employees.
Source: IANS
siliconindia