Don’t violate customers’ privacy

15 Customer privacy

Customers trust us with their private and sensitive information. Living up to this trust by respecting and safeguarding our customers’ privacy is vital to us. We take great care to maintain the confidentiality of this information and use it only in the ways needed to complete our work.

Three key things

1

Customer privacy is a core consideration in everything we do

2

Only process personal data to the extent needed to perform your working duties

3

Keep all personal data strictly confidential and handle it in a secure way

Definitions

Customer privacy is about how we collect, use and process customer personal data, and respect the rights of customers with regards to their data and privacy. The right to privacy is a human right.

Personal data includes all information about a person whose identity is clear or can be established by obtaining and combining additional information.

Do the right thing

Trust is at the heart of our business, so we make privacy a core consideration in everything we do. We integrate privacy as a natural part of our services, processes and IT infrastructure as well as daily work and have a ‘privacy by design’ approach to new development work.

We aim to operate highly secure communication networks and prevent unauthorized access to our customers’ personal data. We also work to reduce the risks to our customers’ human rights posed by government surveillance of communications.

To manage the risks in an ever-changing world, we continuously and proactively assess how our actions and decisions impact customers’ privacy.

We always:

  • Live by both the letter and spirit of international standards and laws on human rights, including the right to privacy
  • Respect our customers’ right to privacy and use their personal data lawfully, fairly and in line with our own high standards as described in Group Policy on Privacy and Data Protection
  • Collect only relevant personal data that we need in order to provide our services and run our business
  • Protect the confidentiality and integrity of our customers’ personal data and use it only for the purpose we have collected it for
  • Maintain transparency by making information available to our customers on how we process their data and giving them meaningful choices about using their data
  • Delete or anonymize personal data that is no longer necessary for the purpose it was obtained for, unless the data is subject to mandatory legal data retention requirements
  • Commit to and are accountable for complying with the law and our own high standards on privacy and require the same from our suppliers

Only process personal data to the extent needed to perform your work. Always:

  • Follow predefined routines, laws and our internal requirements
  • Keep all personal data strictly confidential and handle it in a secure way
  • Consider privacy in everything you do, along the whole lifecycle of customer data – from collection to deletion
  • Take responsibility for your own privacy awareness and increase your knowledge

Never take an action affecting customers’ personal data or privacy before you’re sure it complies with our privacy requirements.

In practice

Can I use customer personal data for any purpose?

No – never collect, view, use, share or disclose any customer’s personal data if you’re not absolutely sure that you’re allowed to do so. If in doubt, talk to your manager or the local Privacy Officer, who is there to answer your questions related to privacy, collection or use of personal data.

My friend suspects that her ex-partner has a new relationship. She's asked me to look at his billing information to see if there’s a phone number that he calls often and for a long time. What should I do?

Customer personal data may only be viewed and used to perform working duties in compliance with pre-defined working routines and applicable laws. You must not look at these details or share them with your friend.

My colleague has told me about a customer who is also a famous celebrity. He is having problems paying his phone bill due to a difficult financial situation. Of course, everyone is interested in his private life – should I ask for more detailed information?

No – you should tell your colleague not to discuss customers’ personal matters with anyone. Customer personal data is confidential information and may only be used to perform work duties.

Find out more

For more information, see our Group Policy on Privacy and Data Protection, or speak with your local Privacy Officer or Group Privacy Officer.

You can also raise concerns or report potential misconduct through our secure web portal – Speak-Up Line.

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