Commission Warns Content Creators Against Public Filming

The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has sounded a definitive alarm to the nation’s burgeoning community of online content creators, declaring that the unauthorised recording and dissemination of citizens’ images in public spaces constitutes a violation of established data privacy statutes.

In a statement released by the Agency on Friday, the regulatory body expressed concern over a growing trend where individuals are covertly or overtly captured on camera by content creators seeking virality, only to have their likenesses broadcast across digital platforms without explicit permission.

While the Commission underscored that such actions represent a direct assault on the constitutionally enshrined right to privacy.

Similarly, the NDPC cited the legal framework, reminding the public that these practices contravene Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which guarantees the right to private and family life, as well as the provisions of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.

The Commission clarified that the utilisation of an individual’s persona through photographs or video for online content falls under the purview of data processing, an activity that is strictly unlawful without the informed consent of the data subject.

“To process the imagery of individuals under such circumstances, the processor must secure their unequivocal consent, unless they can robustly justify the action under other legitimate grounds stipulated by data protection regulations,” the statement read.

The warning was necessitated by a recent, high-profile case involving a Lagos-based content creator whose social media reality show featured accosting unsuspecting pedestrians along major roadways for comedic or entertainment value.

Preliminary investigations by the NDPC revealed this practice to be a calculated intrusion into private life, lacking any demonstrable public or legitimate interest.

The regulator noted that citizens navigating public thoroughfares do not reasonably anticipate being thrust into the spotlight of a global digital audience without their knowledge or consent.

The National Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of the NDPC, Vincent Olatunji, has issued a directive to major social media firms, targeting the ecosystem that enables such breaches.

Hence, the Commission has called on platforms, including TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and Meta, to rigorously enforce their community guidelines to curtail the misuse of personal data.

The NDPC warned of severe repercussions for non-compliance, asserting that digital platforms adjudged culpable of neglecting to address reported violations swiftly will face the full weight of regulatory sanctions.

“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,” the statement read.