Thiruvananthapuram: The Congress on Friday alleged that the CPIM-led government in Kerala has entrusted a US company with the task of analysing data on COVID-19 patients in the state. Leader of Opposition in the state Ramesh Chennithala said that it was a violation of the fundamental rights of the affected persons.
The data, collected using government machinery, was being uploaded not in the government server but in that of a foreign company, Chennithala said.
Such secret data was considered as 'protected health information' by countries and handing it over to a foreign private agency was a "serious" issue, he told reporters here, demanding scrapping of the contract.
The ward-level committees, set up by the government for the anti-corona fight, were collecting information and uploading it in the servers of the private agency, he claimed.
The information of those in home isolation, elderly persons and those at the risk of the disease were collected using a questionnaire, he said.
"Is there any guarantee that the company would not sell the valuable data for commercial purpose in future?", the senior leader asked and wanted the government to reveal the contract details with the foreign company, including the terms and conditions.
The government initiative to provide personal information of individuals to a foreign agency creates a 'dangerous environment' and so the contract should be withdrawn, he said.
"The analysis of the data can be done by the state-run C-DIT or IT Mission," Chennithala pointed out.
(With inputs from PTI)
