THE National Privacy Commission (NPC) reminded the public of their rights when using online lending applications (OLA), which have been on the rise as an alternative access to loans amid the accelerated digital shift in pandemic.
NPC Privacy Policy Office OIC-Director Ivy Grace T. Villasoto said in a webinar last Wednesday that the public has authority over their personal information and the consumers can control how such data will be processed.
Villasoto stressed that OLAs can only process the customers’ data upon giving a specific consent according to the Data Privacy Act.
It should be an informed consent and the data subject should have indication of will, she stressed, which includes signature and verbal agreement.
If personal data are being used outside the agreed parameters, Villasoto said this constitutes privacy violations, urging the public to report such incidents.
NPC Data Security and Compliance Office OIC-Director Rainer Anthony, meanwhile, emphasized the need to learn about the OLA before installing it to one’s mobile phone. This is to assure that the application is legitimate and follows the appropriate regulations.
The privacy officials also raised the need to check carefully the app permissions, as agreeing to them all immediately may provide them access to other personal information that are not necessary for loan application.
Such data, including contact list, location and photos, can be illegally processed at the disadvantage of the consumers.
Red flags
ACCORDING to Privacy Commissioner John Henry D. Naga, protecting the privacy rights of data subjects is the NPC’s priority above all else.
“However, it is still the primordial responsibility of these online lending companies to incorporate data protection policies in conducting their operations,” Naga said.
“In the same vein, it is also important to the NPC that would-be clients of OLAs are aware on how confidential and sensitive their personal data are,” the official added. “We want them to recognize red flags in choosing and using online lending apps.”
In a statement last year, the NPC and financial institutions called on online lending application operators to refrain from harassing their borrowers through unauthorized use of their personal data.
Some pieces of information are harvested “without legitimate purpose”, they said, citing the clients’ contact list and photo gallery, both of which are unnecessary in determining creditworthiness.
“We likewise reiterate our appeal to non-compliant operators of online lending apps to refrain from exploiting borrowers by using the borrowers’ personal data to shame and coerce them into paying their loans through unauthorized and unfair use of their personal data,” they said.
The privacy watchdog banned four online lending apps last year amid the complaints of unauthorized use of personal data. In 2019, it also banned 26 lending apps for the same reason.