Balwant Singh sent a notice saying that Ola Electric must take down telemetry data. It showed that his son Reetam Singh was in an accident driving an Ola Electric at a high speed. However, Balwant Singh urges that the accident was because of a faulty braking system. Now, Ola Electric sends a response, asking the Guwahati-based customer to take down the notice and delete all the negative comments on social media.
According to Ola Electric, the customer must cease and desist from making any kind of defamatory statements against the company. Furthermore, the company lawyers – Lakshmi Kumaran and Sridharan, warned that there would be consequences. If the customer won’t comply within 24 hours, then the company will take action as it has to protect its reputation. In addition to saying that the allegations were baseless, the company says that it is willing to “have a proper and respectful dialogue with you to find an amicable resolution”.
However, in the notice, Singh claimed that the telemetry data that was posted is against the privacy laws. In the notice, he said, “Ola and I signed an agreement to share data only for private access. The posting of telemetry data online is a breach of the privacy agreement between me, the user, and Ola Electric, the seller,”
Telematics data
In response to the claims, Ola Electric said that Telematics is not personal data. Stated that the info shared on the site does not contain any identifiable information or sensitive personal information about Balwant Singh’s son Reetam Singh.
Our statement on the Guwahati scooter accident pic.twitter.com/LbwDLXNh3P
— Ola Electric (@OlaElectric) April 22, 2022
The company further stated the definition from 2011, SPDI Rules, which states about sensitive or personal data. Then adds that telemetry data does not come under SPDI rules, as the data only shows the operation of the incident and nothing more than that.
The company also denied Singh’s claim that the disclosure of telematics data amounted to a violation of revealing personal data and was actionable under IPC 1860 and Indian Contract Act 1872. Ola Electric said that personal data is processed by the company on the basis of consent and other grounds as has been laid down in Ola Electric’s Privacy Policy. It added that customers agree to the terms of the privacy policy at the time of the purchase of the vehicle. Ola Electric said the telemetry data published by the company does not amount to personal data. However, the company said that by publishing social media posts highlighting Reetam’s accident, Balwant Singh had himself published personal data about his son. Thus, Ola Electric claimed that Balwant Singh does not have legitimate expectations of privacy.