Consumers should know who has access to their data, say experts

 They say consumers must understand what happens to their personal information as Malaysia’s digital economy expands.

(From left) Chief of MCMC’s national sovereign Al cloud office Che Juhan Che Mat moderating the dialogue session with Ericsson’s head of security Connie McIntosh, Maxis head of cloud solutions (enterprise) Chin Kok Loon, Sea & Shopee Malaysia head of external affairs Nik Emir Nik Din, and TNG Digital group chief risk officer Foo Yeong Jin at the International Regulatory Conference 2026 today.

PETALING JAYA:

Malaysians should have greater control over how their personal information is collected, used and shared as more daily activities move online, say experts.

They said data protection should not be viewed solely as a legal or technical issue, but as a key factor in building public confidence in digital payments, e-commerce platforms, cloud services and government systems.

Ericsson’s head of security Connie McIntosh said people should be clearly informed about what data was collected, where it was stored, who it was shared with and how it was protected.

She said security and privacy should be built into digital platforms from the outset, instead of being treated as an afterthought. Companies and public agencies, she added, must be transparent when a data breach occurred.

“Because I think it’s a fact that a breach will happen and data does get lost through a range of activities.

“What is needed is a transparent government that says, a breach has happened, this is what happened, and this is what we’re doing to fix it,” she said, as a panellist at the International Regulatory Conference 2026.

McIntosh also called for privacy policies to be simplified, saying lengthy and technical documents made it difficult for consumers to understand what they were consenting to. Clearer explanations of how data is collected and used, along with giving users the ability to correct their information, will help build trust and improve public awareness.

Chin Kok Loon, Maxis’s head of cloud solutions (enterprise), said consumers should understand what information they were providing, why it was needed, how long it would be retained and whether it would be shared with other parties.

He said that, from an individual’s perspective, data sovereignty involved knowing where information was stored, who controlled it, and who could access it.

Chin said consumers should also be more cautious when uploading private documents or sensitive information to artificial intelligence and cloud platforms.

He added that users should not assume passwords alone would provide sufficient protection, as proper encryption was needed to prevent unauthorised parties from reading sensitive information.

What consumers expect

Nik Emir Nik Din, head of external affairs for Sea & Shopee Malaysia, said consumers increasingly expected convenience and data protection to go hand in hand.

He said users might be willing to share information when there was a clear purpose and a tangible benefit, but they would object if their data was collected without their knowledge or used for unrelated purposes.

Nik Emir said digital platforms must also monitor how third parties, including delivery companies, vendors and other service providers, handled information. This includes tracking what data is shared, who receives it and why it is needed.

TNG Digital group chief risk officer Foo Yeong Jin said data protection was especially important in the financial services sector, where platforms handled identity details, payment information and transaction records.

He said users ultimately wanted assurance that their accounts and money are protected, and that companies should allow consumers to opt out of certain uses of their data. -  FMT