Digital Lending: FCCPC Insists on Deleting Apps over Defamation, Harassment

Operators of digital lending apps who defame and harass Nigerians in an attempt to recover loans, will have their apps deleted on Google, Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission(FCCPC), Babatunde Irukera, has disclosed.

Speaking on ARISE News yesterday  on the recent activities of the commission, Irukera further stated that the strategy to delist loan applications found harassing customers has led to significant reduction and those left have met the stated ethical requirements.

He further added that once a loan app has been delisted due to consumers’ harassment, there would not be a second chance. He also said genuine people in need of the loans should not be made to suffer frustrations to get loans.

“We would make sure that any app that is on Google but defames consumers would not have the opportunity to do legal business in Nigeria anymore.

“You cannot because there is a high rate of default, begin to engage inappropriate ways of recovering loans.”

“People who truly have a problem and those who don’t fail to make a payment should not be subjected to the inconvenience of frustrations or harassments that accompanies these defamatory messages,” he said.

The FCCPC boss also spoke on involving the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to boost the processes involved in money lending by these online banks, saying FCCPC will regulate its application to forestall abuse of consumer rights.

He said: “AI is an emerging space that regulators are trying to put their hands around, both from the competition standpoint and the consumer protection standpoint. We welcome the use of technology that promotes efficiency and some level of precision however, even in the use of AI, any technology that gives you inappropriate access to people’s privacy or gives data controllers some level of control or access, we would challenge that.”

He also stated that there is a platform dedicated where reports on the conducts of these online banks can be tabled at [email protected].

To this end, he pointed out that the public can also make use of the complaint platform on the commission’s website.

While reviewing the various legal battles the commission has   been involved  in the last five years, the CEO said the FCCPC has had five years of a zero-loss record in judicial processes.

He said: “Because I am a regulator, I welcome judicial challenges to what we do. The one thing I am very strict about is that we would stretch the law to its maximum limit and elasticity but we would not step one inch beyond the law.

“We are confident and we welcome the judicial challenge. For instance, I go to court myself and I might say in the almost five years of the FCCPC, we have a pretty good run. We have a zero loss from the judicial process.”