DIGITAL SHAMING, DATA PRIVACY AND THE ETHICS OF FINTECH RECOVERY PRACTICES IN NIGERIA: WITHAL CONSUMER PROTECTION AMIDST INSTANT LOAN APPLICATIONS?

Abstract

This article examines digital shaming, data privacy violations, and short-term coercive debt recovery practices within Nigeria’s rapidly expanding fintech industry. Although digital lending platforms have significantly improved financial inclusion and access to short-term credit facilities, weak ethical and regulatory safeguards have enabled exploitative recovery mechanisms characterised by harassment, unauthorised disclosures of personal information, defamatory communications, and public humiliation of borrowers through digital platforms. Adopting the doctrinal method of legal research, the article analyses the constitutional, statutory, and ethical implications of prevailing recovery practices within the framework of Nigerian consumer protection and data privacy laws. Particular attention is devoted to applicable statutes and relevant judicial authorities. The article further engages with comparative jurisprudence and international data governance principles to examine the adequacy of regulatory structures governing digital lending operations in Nigeria. The article argues that many fintech recovery practices are inconsistent with constitutional privacy protections and protection against degrading treatment. It further contends that weak enforcement mechanisms, regulatory fragmentation, and inadequate consumer awareness have contributed significantly to the persistence of abusive lending practices within Nigeria’s fintech sector. The article concludes by advocating stronger institutional enforcement, sector-specific regulation, ethical lending standards, enhanced data protection compliance, and consumer education initiatives capable of balancing financial innovation with consumer protection.