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Nigeria’s data protection watchdog has imposed a hefty fine of $512,000 on MultiChoice Nigeria, the operator of DStv and GOtv, for alleged breaches of the country’s data protection regulations.
The fine—equivalent to $512,000 USD—was announced following a year-long investigation by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC). The probe, according to officials, was triggered by numerous complaints related to privacy violations and the unauthorised cross-border transfer of subscriber data.
Babatunde Bamigboye, Head of Legal at the NDPC, said in a statement on Sunday that the company’s data-handling practices were “patently intrusive, unfair, unnecessary and disproportionate, ”affecting not only its subscribers but also people linked to them.
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“The depth of data processing by MultiChoice is patently intrusive, unfair, unnecessary and disproportionate,” Bamigboye stated. “These violations compromise the privacy rights of millions and are not aligned with the principles of fairness and necessity in data handling.”
He explained that despite an earlier directive to correct the violations, MultiChoice’s efforts were deemed unsatisfactory, prompting the Commission to take enforcement action through financial penalties.
MultiChoice, Africa’s largest pay-TV company, has come under regulatory scrutiny in Nigeria multiple times in recent years. Alongside previous legal battles over subscription price hikes and tax disputes, this latest sanction further adds to the company’s mounting operational challenges in its largest market outside South Africa.
As of the time of filing this report, MultiChoice Nigeria has not issued any public comment on the matter.
The NDPC reiterated its commitment to enforcing data privacy standards across Nigeria and warned other service providers to comply with local data protection laws or face similar consequences.
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