Philippines DPA bans lending firms to access private data of borrowers through apps

According to CNN Philippines, online lending companies will soon be banned from accessing private data as well as phone and social media contacts of borrowers. The National Privacy Commission (NPC) of the Philippines has announced new rules for lending firms, after complaints about borrowers’ privacy being breached. This new measure will enter into force in mid-November, which will prohibit lending firms to secure ’unnecessary’ permissions to access data available in a user’s phone through their mobile apps.