LIVE FROM GSMA MOBILE 360 SERIES – LATIN AMERICA, BUENOS AIRES: Argentinian operators Claro, Movistar and Personal signed a pledge to give customers greater transparency around the handling of their personal data, as part of the GSMA We Care campaign.

Commitments made include placing privacy policies prominently on the operators’ websites with easy-to-understand information about user rights, and updating them with current regulations. The operators will also make available statistics about the number of judicial requests they receive for users’ data.

The first figures have already been published and revealed that the three companies received more than 205,000 of these requests in 2018. Each one is analysed and companies provide information to authorities only when the request meets the legally required conditions.

Personal data is “a very valuable asset and our commitment and objective is to safeguard it, by respecting and granting privacy and security to the maximum. Clients have the power over their personal data, and the power to monitor and manage such information,” stated Luis Delamer, director of strategy, regulation and wholesale at Telefonica Movistar.

Protection
The operators also reaffirmed their commitment to the GSMA’s Mobile Privacy Principles, a set of guidelines about how users’ data should be protected when they use mobile apps and services.

The GSMA We Care campaign was launched by Latin America’s operators to ensure all users can enjoy mobile technology in a safe and secure environment. It has been launched in 16 countries in the region and last month was deployed for the first time in Africa, when Kenya’s operators became signatories of a new Child Online Protection.

“The We Care initiative is the ideal vehicle for companies to work together to define best practices and raise industry standards with regard to privacy. Collectively, the pledges made under the We Care campaign empower users by giving them a safer and more reliable mobile experience,” said Sebastian Cabello, head of Latin America, GSMA.