Privacy Policies of Communication Companies in Egypt

• Ownership → The Egyptian government owns 80% of the company’s shares.
• Services provided by the company → Telecommunications services for mobile phones, fixed telephone lines and Internet.
• Subsidiaries → The company has a range of investments in the field of communications and information technology; it manages the communications infrastructure in Egypt, and owns 44.95 shares of Vodafone Egypt.

How WE deals with user data

  Access to the Privacy Policy: The Privacy Policy is publicly, comprehensively, and easily accessible.

    There is no privacy policy on the company’s website or in the service contract except for one clause in the contract stating that “the company is committed to confidentiality of customer data and information unless it is disclosed in whole or in part by law or at the request of a judicial or administrative authority or upon the approval of the client.”

   Change of privacy policies :Companies commitment to inform users about changes in privacy policies..

    Although there is no privacy policy in place other than that mentioned in the service contract, the service contract states in one of its clauses that “the company shall be entitled to make any amendments it deems necessary to this contract with the consent of the NTRA; the amendments are enforced as soon as they are posted on the company’s website or sent to the customer by e-mail to the address contained in the contract”. This includes the above mentioned item concerning data confidentiality.

  Data collection : the quality of data and information gathered by companies about users, and how this is done.

   In accordance with a decision of the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA), the company requires that a copy of the national ID be obtained while contracting the telecommunications services it provides. Therefore, the company has all the personal data of the users. There is no information available on the company’s website or in the service contract for which data and information are collected while using different communications services.

   It is worth noting that Telecom Egypt offers its customers the application of “WE Home Internet”, in which users can manage their own landline account. This application has the power to determine the geographical location based on GPS technology or approximate location based on the network.

  Data sharing : the quality of data that companies share with third parties and purpose of sharing.

    There is no information about sharing personal information and data with third parties.

  Data Retention :The length of time companies retain data collected from users, and their storage and protection mechanisms..

    There is no information about how long data is kept or stored and protected.

  Users control their data : users’ access to their data, their collection and sharing.

    There is no information about whether the user controls his or her personal data or their share with third parties.

Disclosure procedures :What procedures are used in case government entities request user data.

    The Company does not provide any clear information about the procedures followed in the case of a request by government agencies to obtain user data, with the exception of one clause in the contract stating: “The company is committed to confidentiality of customer data and information unless disclosed in whole or in part by law or at the request of one of the judicial or administrative authorities or upon the approval of the client. “

 Disclosure of requests for information :Transparency of companies in public disclosure of requests by government agencies to obtain user information and informing users..

    The company does not disclose government requests for information about users.

 • Communication security measures : policies and procedures followed by companies to secure communications and data storage.

    There are no details about protecting the data stored in the company.