By Mbafan Ade (ABUJA) –
The Nigerian Government has commenced moves to engage Facebook on the on WhatsApp updated privacy policy, which has the potential for undermining the data privacy of Nigerians.
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, who made this known in Abuja at the weekend, expressed the commitment of the Federal Government to upholding the data privacy of Nigerians in conformity with the Nigeria Data Protection Regulations (NDPR) released by the government in 2019.
The minister was reacting to the updated Privacy Policy of the WhatsApp messaging application, which states that WhatsApp will share information about the users on their platform with their parent company (Facebook), as well as other Facebook companies.
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.
Pantami, who expressed reservations about the move, 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.”
In a statement by his Technical Assistant (Information Technology), Dr. Femi Adeluyi, the minister said “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.”
“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,” the minister said.