[BREAKING] Data Protection Act: Telcos, banks risk paying heavy fines

Banks and telecommunications companies in Nigeria risk paying heavy fines in billions as the National Data Protection Commission, NDPC begins an investigation into their alleged data breaches.

This follows an avalanche of complaints received by the NDPC in the last few weeks, bothering on unlawful data processing, unauthorized access to personal data, and violation of data subjects’ rights.

Under Part 10 of the newly signed Data Protection Act 2023, a data controller with a turnover of 200 billion naira yearly may pay as high as 2 billion naira which represents 2 percent of the gross revenue.

In addition, offenders also risk up to 1-year jail term.

Vanguard gathered that the Commission is currently investigating data controllers of major commercial banks such as GT Bank, Fidelity Bank, Unity Bank, Zenith Bank, Leadway Insurance, and Babcock University among others.

It was also gathered that many micro-finance banks are yet to align their operations with the dictates of data privacy and protection.

Similarly, “Loan Sharks” have come under scrutiny lately with Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission mandating privacy compliance and clearance by NDPC before granting approval to online lenders.

Our findings also revealed that the Commission is currently investigating over 400 complaints in the online lending sector.

Soko Loan is already working on a comeback to the digital lending market, though it is yet to receive the nod of NDPC.

It will be recalled that the leadership of the Commission had in various fora explained the measures for ensuring compliance with data protection rules and regulations.

The Commission said it prioritizes awareness more than the scorched earth enforcement process.

To achieve this, however, the Commission said some banks, a state government agency, and a few data controllers had to go through a remediation process to ensure adequate compliance.

With the new Data Protection Act, the Commission has been handed a strong legal weapon to rein in abusers of citizens’ privacy and other forms of data breach.