The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has said it is engaging the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to let them know that the directive on banks’ customers’ social media handle is against the law.
The National Commissioner of NDPC, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, said this in a statement issued by Mr. Itunu Dosekun, Head of Media, on Thursday in Abuja.
The CBN, on June 26, directed banks to obtain the social media handles of customers as part of enhanced Customer Due Diligence (CDD) regulations.
Olatunji said that before the establishment of the Nigerian Data Protection Act (NDPA), on June 12, indiscriminate collection of citizens’ data by Data Controller Organisations was not taken seriously.
He explained that there were prerequisite steps any Data Controller must take before collecting data from data subjects.
He also said that any organization that defaulted was going against the law and causing a data breach, as well as would attract fines.
“There are provisions in the law to go against any data controller, be it private or government office, NGOs, hotels, because we are pro-citizens.
“The whole idea of this law is to protect the rights, the interests of Nigerians who are data subjects.
“We are already engaging with the CBN to let them know that what they have done is against the law because there are basic principles you must meet when you want to collect citizens’ data.
“There is data minimization, meaning you don’t collect data beyond the purpose for which it was intended, purpose limitation, what purpose is it for,” he explained.
According to him, asking for social media handles is not necessary.
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