UN chief wants to see data protection debate under UN auspices

Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, was asked about a UN role for challenges facing the industry after profiles of some 50 million Facebook subscribers were released without their consent.

"This is a debate that needs to bring in all the players," Xinhua quoted the spokesman as saying.

"It's beyond governments. Tech companies, civil society, users -- all have to come together and we very much hope to at some point see them all meet under the auspices of the UN."

"The debate around the use of personal data -- how that is done, the transparency that is needed -- is of concern for all of us," he said.

"The secretary-general is not looking for the UN itself to take the lead on these issues but to use the UN as a platform to bring all these players together to address some of the new frontier problems that we all have to face," he added.