The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has issued a strong warning to content creators not to take photos or record videos of people in public and post them online without getting their consent.
The commission made this known on Friday, March 13, in a statement by Babatunde Bamigboye, who leads legal, enforcement, and regulatory matters in Abuja.
Mr Bamigboye said such actions violated citizens’ rights to informational self-determination as guaranteed under Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA).
He explained that the commission has noticed people taking photos or videos of others in public without their knowledge and posting them online for entertainment.
For example, they mentioned a content creator, Ella who reportedly stood by roadsides in Lagos and filmed people without their knowledge to make a reality show.
The commission said processing people’s images in such circumstances required their consent, unless the creator could justify the action under another lawful basis for data processing.
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He said preliminary investigations showed that such wilful invasion of citizens’ privacy neither served a public interest nor a legitimate purpose
“In any event, the data subjects involved have no expectation that their images will be captured and shared with the whole world by an unknown individual,” Mr Bamigboye said.
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He quoted Vincent Olatunji, the national commissioner of NDPC, who told social media platform owners to enforce their community guidelines more effectively. He mentioned that platforms like TikTok, X, and Meta-owned services need stricter rules.
He explained that the directive is meant to protect people from harm caused by the unlawful or unfair use of their personal data. The NDPC also warned that platform owners who do not act quickly to fix these issues could face penalties under the NDPA.
“For the avoidance of doubt, where a platform owner fails or neglects to act timeously in addressing harms, the Commission will not hesitate to impose appropriate sanctions under the NDP Act.
“More importantly, individual content creators are accountable for their acts and omissions, and may be liable to criminal prosecution for violating the privacy rights of citizens and other data subjects in Nigeria,” Mr Bamigboye said.
