The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has slammed a fine of N10 million on an online lending platform, Soko Lending Company Limited (Soko Loans), for invasion of privacy.
The agency in a statement on Tuesday said the sanction was issued after it received a series of complaints against the company for unauthorized disclosures, failure to protect customers’ personal data and defamation of character.
It alleged that Soko Loans failed to carry out the necessary due diligence as enshrined in the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR).
The agency through its spokesperson, Hadiza Umar, said it commenced investigation over the alleged infractions of the provisions of the NDPR as part of its due diligence.
NITDA described Soko Loans as a company that grants its customers uncollateralised loans and requires a loanee to download its mobile application on their phone and activate a direct debit in the company’s favour.
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The agency claimed that the app gains access to the loanee’s phone contacts.
According to one of the complainants, when he failed to meet up with his repayment obligations due to insufficient credit in his account on the date the direct debit was to take effect, the company unilaterally sent privacy-invading messages to the complainant’s contacts.
Umar said, “Investigation revealed that complainants’ contacts who were neither parties to the loan transaction nor consented to the processing of their data have confirmed the receipt of such messages.
“The agency made strident efforts to get Soko Loan to change the unethical practice but to no avail.
“After the agency’s investigation team secured a lien order on one of the company’s accounts by which it could come up with privacy-enhancing solutions for its business model, Soko Loan decided to rebrand and directs its customers to pay into its other business accounts,” it said.
Umar said the agency’s investigation further revealed that the company embeds trackers that share data with third parties inside its mobile application without providing users information about it or using the appropriate lawful basis.
She said in view of the foregoing and in consideration of its implication on the privacy of Nigerians and erosion of trust in the digital economy, NITDA has imposed a monetary sanction of N10million on Soko Lending Company Limited.
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