FG prohibits internet banks from accessing the contacts and images of their customers.

On May 31, 2023, loan apps on the Play Store won’t be able to access the contacts or photographs of its users.

The Federal Government announced that it will enforce Google’s most recent policy at the same time as Nigerian authorities were attempting to stop lending app companies from violating their users’ privacy.

The Federal Government recently made significant moves to address how lending applications are violating users’ privacy. Importantly, out of the 200 lending applications currently active in the nation, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission recently registered 170 of them.

Google stated in its April 2023 policy adjustments that the new policy update would give loan app users in Nigeria and other countries who have grown accustomed to the shoddy loan retrieval techniques used by most loan apps some relief.

Google said, “Policy preview (effective May 31, 2023): This article previews changes included in our April 2023 policy updates.

“We are updating our personal loans policy to state that apps aiming to provide or facilitate personal loans may not access user contacts or photos.

“We are introducing additional requirements for personal loan apps targeting users in Pakistan. Personal loan apps in Pakistan must submit country-specific licensing documentation to prove their ability to provide or facilitate personal loans.”

This new regulation follows the company’s revisions to its Developer Program Policy, which required digital money lenders in Nigeria, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Kenya to comply with legal requirements by January 31 or face being shut down.

The company claims that only digital money lenders who have complied with and finished the Limited Interim Regulatory/Registration Framework and Guidelines for Digital Lending, 2022 (as may be amended from time to time) and obtained a verifiable approval letter from the FCCPC will be permitted on Play Store in Nigeria.

Babatunde Irukera, the Chief Executive Officer of the FCCPC, commented on the new policy and said it was a welcome development that demonstrated Google was institutionalizing its regulatory policy.

He said, “It is a welcome development effort and is consistent with the position the FCCPC has taken and what we are enforcing.

“Google is now institutionalising our regulatory effort as a policy, which is very welcome. It is certainly important for proper regulatory oversight of the industry, and we commend Google for taking a position that is consistent with our position as regulators.”

He added, “Recall that we took this position earlier and what has happened is that Google has looked at the regulatory landscape, looked at the regulatory priorities, and is supporting those priorities by institutionalizing those regulatory priorities and position.”

According to recent statements made by the FCCPC, 173 applications for digital lending to operate throughout the nation have been granted. 54 of these received provisional permits, while 119 received complete approvals. This action was required after loan apps began tormenting Nigerians by sending slanderous messages to their connections and other forms of harassment.

The Limited Interim Regulatory/Registration Framework and Guidelines for Digital Lending 2022 from the commission aims to regulate the digital lending industry and make registration and approval requirements for businesses wishing to participate in the sector.

Although Google’s policy prohibits “apps that promote personal loans that require payback in full in 60 days or fewer from the date the loan is offered,” many lending apps in the nation disregard it, putting many Nigerians at risk of having their private information leaked.

Irukera recently said on Arise TV that the commission’s recent registration drive will protect Nigerians’ privacy, adding that “We also want to restrain what kind of information they are able to pull off people’s phones and what they are able to do with that information, especially with respect to making contact with people on the contact list, and their loan recovery practices; the kind of language the times they call, what kind of calls they make, what kind of messages they send, what kind of information they are able to