Abuja — The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has warned content creators to respect the privacy rights of citizens, cautioning that individuals who film unsuspecting members of the public and post such content online could face sanctions and possible prosecution.
The Commission said its attention had been drawn to the activities of some individuals who take photographs and video footage of unsuspecting members of the public and share them on social media platforms for entertainment purposes.
According to the NDPC, such actions violate citizens’ rights to privacy and informational self-determination as guaranteed under Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.
The Commission cited a particular case involving a content creator who reportedly records a roadside “reality show” in Lagos by capturing unsuspecting passersby and sharing the footage online.
In a statement signed by the Head of Legal, Enforcement and Regulations of the NDPC, Babatunde Bamigboye, the Commission said processing people’s images in such circumstances requires their consent unless it can be justified under other lawful bases for data processing.
It added that preliminary investigations indicated that the act amounted to a wilful invasion of citizens’ privacy and did not serve any legitimate public interest.
“The data subjects involved have no expectation that their images will be captured and shared with the whole world by an unknown individual,” the Commission said.
Following the development, the National Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of the NDPC, Vincent Olatunji, has directed social media platform owners such as TikTok, X and Meta to strengthen enforcement of their community guidelines to prevent harm arising from unlawful or unfair processing of personal data.
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The Commission warned that platform owners who fail to act promptly to address such violations could face sanctions under the Nigeria Data Protection Act.
It also stressed that individual content creators remain accountable for their actions and could be liable to criminal prosecution if found guilty of violating the privacy rights of citizens and other data subjects in Nigeria.
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