The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has issued a warning to Nigerians to henceforth be wary of their usage of Whatsapp. According to the agency, given the fact that millions of Nigerians currently use the messaging app as their de-facto means of communication and in the light of the company’s recent changes to its Privacy Policy which it says it is exploring necessary relational measure on, it is now important that Nigerians be aware the likely implications of its continued usage may portend for them.
This was contained in a Press Statement issued by the agency this Tuesday.
According to the agency, the new changes to the messaging apps privacy policy is akin to digital colonialism and does not favour Nigerians as it seeks to collect, track and supply Facebook and its sister companies with data sets of users of the messaging app.
Recall that Facebook rolled out a new Privacy Policy on May 15th despite outcry against it by Nigerians.
The agency is now calling on Nigerians with innovative ideas in this area to send in their pitches through a hackathon it will be organizing in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.
What You Should Know
Facebook acquired Whatsapp in February 2014. Facebook currently has over 2.5 billion users globally, while Whatsapp has over 2 billion users. Whatsapp shared a reviewed Privacy Policy on 4th January 2021, informing its users outside the European Union that it would now share their information with Facebook and its sister companies.
Datasets collected by Whatsapp
Whatsapp collects the following information on users:
account information;
messages (including undelivered messages, media forwarding);
connections;
status information;
transactions and payments data;
usage and log information;
device and connection information;
location information;
cookies etc.
Other information collected by Whatsapp include:
battery level;
signal strength;
app version;
browser information;
mobile network;
connection information (including phone number, mobile operator or ISP), language and time zone;
Internet Protocol address;
device operations information;
social media identifiers.
The new Whatsapp policy states thus:
“As part of the Facebook Companies, WhatsApp receives information from, and shares information with, the other Facebook Companies. We may use the information we receive from them, and they may use the information we share with them, to help operate, provide, improve, understand, customize, support, and market our Services and their offerings, including the Facebook Company Products…”
Measures advised by NITDA:
- Nigerians may wish to note that there are other available platforms with similar functionalities which they may wish to explore. Choice of platform should consider data sharing practices, privacy, ease of use among others; and
- Limit the sharing of sensitive personal information on private messaging and social media platforms as the initial promise of privacy and security is now being overridden on the bases of business exigency.
Nigeria’s engagement with Facebook continues. We have given them our opinion on areas to improve compliance with the NDPR. We have also raised concerns as to the marked difference between the privacy standard applicable in Europe, under the GDPR and the rest of the world.
Given the foregoing and other emerging issues around international technology companies, NITDA, with stakeholders, is exploring all options to ensure Nigerians do not become victims of digital colonialism. Our national security, dignity and individual privacy are cherished considerations we must not lose. Because of this, we shall work with the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy to organize a hackathon for Nigerians to pitch solutions that can provide services that will provide functional alternatives to existing global social platforms.
