‘The public should be duly warned about this development, especially those in need of loans…’
A PANDEMIC as huge and expansive as COVID-19 necessarily will change the way we all live, what with the military-style implementation of health protocols such as the ban on mass/family gatherings, use of face masks and shields, and imposition of curfew.
The lockdown, whether granular or citywide, results in loss of jobs and other opportunities to earn a living. People understand the need for them to strictly stay home, especially the children and their seniors. Parents and breadwinners, however, have to take care of family expenses. And when their savings are gone and the “ayuda” is delayed, lacking, or just not given, they turn to financiers and lenders online.
This is exactly the reason the pandemic has given rise to online lending platforms where loan applicants can get cash in just a few clicks of the mouse. While banks and their little cousins, the pawnshops, closely observe lending rules as imposed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, these online lenders proliferate because they ask only the basic personal information from clients, without the need for a personal appearance.
Lately, several apps and lenders have been the subject of various complaints of unauthorized use of personal data that resulted in harassment and shaming of borrowers and are currently being investigated for violations of the Data Privacy Act and other rules of the National Privacy Commission (NPC).
The NPC said the apps have gained access to a trove of information in the borrowers’ mobile devices, including contacts and social media data, that are excessive and may be weaponized to harass and shame delinquent borrowers before persons in their mobile devices’ contact list to collect debts.
To remedy the situation, the commission has taken down from the internet and removed from Google Play Store four lending applications which, after investigation and due process, have been established to have violated data privacy laws.
These firms have been given complete access by their borrowers to all personal information they need in running financial scams. These include “location, photos, media files, emails, contact lists, and data from social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Google +.”
The NPC noted that this level of access violates “the principles of transparency, legitimate purpose, and proportionality” in the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and the NPC circular on the Processing of Personal Data for Loan-Related Transactions.
The public should be duly warned about this development, especially those in need of loans, even as we thank the NPC for acting in a timely manner to forestall more losses and invasion of privacy of borrowers.
