Mobile users irked on unauthorized use of data

KARACHI: Majority of the mobile users do feel irritated by uninvited and un-welcome calls or messages by some marketing companies or supply chains for food, cosmetics, and private life products, and other things of daily use.

The people belonging to different sections of the society have complained of provision of data of the mobile users by the mobile companies to marketing and other business enterprises without their consent. On getting this data, the marketing companies etc. start making calls or sending messages about their products or businesses without caring for the working or rest hours of the users. Some times, this causes serious disturbance to the mobile users.

"Even we receive content related to sexual products. This becomes very irritating rather embarrassing for us when mobiles are in children's hands," said Ahmed Nawaz Khan, a retired government teacher.

A government employee, working on a senior position, said such type of calls and texts virtually disrupted his official work. The worse part of this episode was, when these calls were made or messages sent during late night. One in deep sleep is forced to wake up to receive the call or see the message under the impression/feeling that it might be important or of urgent nature.

An educated lady, who is mother of three minor daughters and a son, described it as a serious issue and particularly referred to the content receiving on mobiles which was not fit to be read by children. These un-invited calls and content simply created hatred against the use of cellular phones.

"Being a mother, I literally feel very bad," she remarked.

A university student, Nadeem, shared that one day he received an un-known call. The caller, after saying Aslam-o-Alaikum, started telling about a housing project and tried to get my personal data , also financial status. Instead of responding to his queries, Nadeem questioned," how you got my number and name." The reply was,"har cheez hamain assani sey mil jatti hay."

Nadeem said it was very shocking to him and he requested the man on the other end that he was not interested in any housing project and would be thankful for no call in future.

There were many other people from different age groups and sections of the society, who encountered this scribe and complained of the same issue.

All these cell phone users or their parents called for strict regulations and monitoring by the government over the mobile companies to stop them from providing access to any marketing companies or other enterprises to the data of their network users who never gave consent for the use of their date without their permission.