NDPC warns content creators over unauthorised filming

The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has warned content creators who film unsuspecting members of the public and post the footage on social media that they risk sanctions under Nigeria’s data protection laws.

The warning, issued Friday in Abuja by the commission’s Head of Legal, Enforcement and Regulations, Babatunde Bamigboye, follows a preliminary investigation into a content creator who stands at roadsides in Lagos to produce a self-described “reality show” of passers-by without their knowledge. The commission found that the practice served no public or legitimate interest.

“These acts violate the rights of citizens to informational self-determination as guaranteed under Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution and the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023,” Bamigboye said.

The commission also directed TikTok, X, and Meta to enforce their community guidelines against such content or face sanctions under the Act.

Street filming for social media has grown noticeably in cities like Lagos since the early 2020s, driven largely by TikTok’s rise. The NDPC‘s warning signals that the practice, long treated as harmless entertainment, now carries legal risk.

This is not the first time a major platform has faced consequences in Nigeria. In July 2024, Meta Platforms Inc. was jointly fined $220 million by the NDPC and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission for sharing Nigerian users’ data without authorisation and denying users control over how their data was used on Facebook and WhatsApp. The fine signals that the NDPC is willing to act against large platforms, not just individual creators.

Under Section 3(2)(d) of the NDPA 2023, journalism, artistic, and literary work can be exempt from some data protection obligations but only where strict compliance would be incompatible with that purpose. The commission’s position is that entertainment content does not meet that bar, since obtaining consent or blurring faces is entirely compatible with the creative purpose.

Content creators who cannot show a lawful basis for processing a person’s image as required under Sections 24 and 25 of the Act remain exposed to enforcement action regardless of how they label their content.

Last updated: March 14, 2026