WhatsApp Updated Privacy Policy: FG moves to prevent violation of Nigerians’ privacy rights by WhatsApp, Facebook, others

WhatsApp Updated Privacy Policy: FG moves to prevent violation of Nigerians’ privacy rights by WhatsApp, Facebook, others

The Federal Government has launched action to prevent WhatsApp from violating data privacy rights of Nigerians who use the instant messaging platform.

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, said on Friday that his attention had been brought to the updated Privacy Policy of the WhatsApp messaging application.

He explained that the Policy states that WhatsApp will share information about the users on their platform with their parent company (Facebook), as well as other Facebook companies.

Pantami, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy

The information includes user phone numbers, “transaction data, service-related information, information on how you interact with others (including businesses) when using our Services, mobile device information, your IP address”.

Furthermore, WhatsApp has indicated that users who refuse to accept their revised privacy policy risk not being able to use the service at all.

The Federal Government released the Nigeria Data Protection Regulations (NDPR) in 2019 and is committed to upholding the data privacy of Nigerians.

“We are also aware that the European region is exempt from the provisions of the updated Policy and it is also being challenged in a number of countries,” he said in statement signed by Femi Adeluyi, Technical Assistant (Information Technology) to the Minister.

Accordingly, Minister Pantami directed the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), as the Regulator of the Information Technology sector, to engage vigorously with Facebook to understand the processes, level of security, etc of the data of Nigerian users in order to ensure that Policies proposed for Nigeria strictly adhere to the provisions of NDPR.

“Nigerians can be assured that the Federal Government will give uttermost attention to the privacy of their data, in line with the NDPR and the National Digital Economy Policy for a Digital Nigeria,” the minister said.