Quoted in headlines of Mid Day Newspaper today and shared my views with respect to frauds on reputed online portals and liability of service providers.
“Users share their details to contact one particular vendor online. But when many vendors start contacting them, it is a breach of privacy and an offence on the part of the company, when a user has not expressly consented to widespread sharing of his data. Just Dial will have to soon change its marketing strategy and stop sharing user data with vendors not authorized by the user in keeping with the Privacy Bill, which will be soon enacted. Even under the current Information Technology Act, this methodology of business is questionable. However, as an intermediary, Just Dial is not liable for frauds committed by vendors listed on its portal, except when it’s a verified vendor and Just Dial is taking responsibility. When seeking services of vendors through any portal like Just Dial, it is important to vet the credentials of the vendors before engaging them, and doing a good background check. There are many frauds on online portals and a buyer must beware.”
