Govt Says Money Lending Apps Ask For Too Much Information

Posted by: Kyeyune Andrew Jonathan in Uganda news July 25, 2023

The Personal Data Protection Office, a Unit under the National Information Technology Authority is set to investigate digital money lenders operations due to multiple public complaints about the misuse of data acquired from borrowers.

Ms Stella Alibateese, the Personal Data Protection Officer said they are scrutinizing several complaints regarding these applications.

“The people who obtain loans from these digital money lenders are people who are not yet aware of their rights. They lack knowledge that when they consent to certain actions, there are repercussions in terms of their privacy,” she said.

Apparently, these money lenders are known to blackmail third party contacts known to borrowers. They are doing this to coerce them into payment of the borrowed money if they default.

These apps request for a lot of information from the phone of the person taking out the loan. This information includes access to gallery, phone contacts and other financial details.

All this permission request is a breach since the law only grants access to relevant data to be used for only the reasons it is collected.

“Our mandate is to investigate complaints and guide the data processor. In this case, are digital money lenders, and to restore the rights of the data subjects,” Ms Grace Kenganzi, the Personal Data Protection Office public relations officer said.

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