Quick Credit, Hisense, Marwako officials picked up over alleged privacy breaches

Three companies are currently being probed by the Data Protection Commission over alleged breaches of data protection laws.

The three companies found in breach on August 14, 2023, are Hisense Ghana Limited, Quick Credit Investment and Micro-Credit Investment Limited and Marwako Fast Food.

Officials of the three companies were picked up for questioning during the commencement of an enforcement exercise of data laws by the Data Protection Commission.

“Quick Credit Investment and Micro-Credit Limited, a prominent company offering loans to customers with interest, was cited for their alleged violation of the Data Protection Act 2012,” the Data Protection Commission said.

The DPC’s action comes after a customer’s complaint regarding privacy breaches caused by the company.

The company had been cited for the alleged practice of publishing the names of defaulting customers in the public domain without obtaining proper consent, a violation that is expressly prohibited under the Data Protection Act 2012 (843).

The Commission has further directed the company to make itself available for a meeting by the close of work on Monday [August 14, 2023] to address the allegations leveled against them and discuss potential remedies.

During a press briefing, Quinton Akrobeto, the Director for Regulatory and Compliance at the Data Protection Commission, said: “We will be expecting them at the Police Headquarters for further interrogation. We received a complaint about their non-compliance, and how they are processing personal data against their customers, so we received a complaint from one lawyer who wrote in respect of their client, and it is upon that we have followed up to this place.”

“What they [the companies] do is harass their customers, go to their homes and churches, and allow the whole world to know that they are owing them which is against their privacy,” he added.

Meanwhile, the officials of the two other companies were picked up for questioning over possible privacy breaches.

SSD/MA

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