The National Communications Commission (NCC) of Taiwan had been examining mobile phones which are made by twelve of the world's largest manufacturers since August. Regulatory officials wanted to know if these handsets have complied with the commission's security requirements.
The investigation found out that the 12 phone models have been violating the country's privacy laws by collating user data and sending them back to the servers of the mobile manufacturers. The preliminary findings, which were revealed during the commission's legislative session, also claimed that the collection of the data was done without the users' permission.
"The key issue is that companies have to tell consumers if they are collecting their personal data or transferring it elsewhere," said Yu Hsaio-Cheng, the commission's vice chairman. "Our law is quite strict."
The law pertains to a regulation on how companies gather and process user information. It also comes with the provision on limiting personal information transfers on a global scale. The problem becomes more apparent among companies which don't have data centers that operate in Taiwan.
One of the handsets that was placed under scrutiny was China's Xiaomi which is now one of Asia's most popular devices. According to local legislator Chiu Chih-Wei, Xiaomi devices send the data of their customers back to the company's servers without permission from the user.
Xiaomi responded by apologizing on the issues of privacy and making changes on their device's software.
Apart from privacy issues, the commission also said that the handsets contained certain 'imperfections' which failed to be in conformity with the law.
As a result of the investigation, the mobile makers would have to modify their handsets to make them more aligned with the government's privacy standards. If they refuse to cooperate, the companies could face a fine of up to $6.43 million or be banned from selling their handsets in Taiwan.
HTC, a Taiwan-based company, said that they are working with the regulatory officials in order to make their devices more compliant with the prescribed security standards.
Both Samsung and Apple are yet to give their comment on the findings of the commission. As for Xiaomi, the company said that its handsets never send any user information without permission.
While it is true that resolving privacy issues have been one of the deepest concerns among the world's largest companies from various industries, the violations named by Taiwan's NCC seemed not to have the same level of urgency. One of the officials from the commission said that the companies involved could resolve the privacy issues on their own. Moreover, the commission will most likely extend the grace period for their compliance.
