Mobile phone brands Oppo and Realme could be at risk of breaching the personal data protection law as they have retained many customers’ data without their consent and did not appoint data controllers in accordance with the law.
Meanwhile, the Fineasy loan offering app pre-installed in some models of their devices does not possess the relevant licence for offering personal loans on a digital platform issued under the Bank of Thailand’s system.
The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) on Monday ordered importers and distributors of the two brands to cease selling phone models pre-installed with the Fineasy app.
The regulator on Monday called all related parties to clarify the situation as last week the Thailand Consumers Council (TCC) urged both smartphone brands to provide an explanation following reports from users that the unauthorised Fineasy loan app had been pre-installed as a system app on their devices.
Alarmingly, these apps cannot be uninstalled and are capable of sending loan invitations and accessing users’ personal data, including their contact lists and phone numbers, the TCC said.
Installing software without user consent might be a violation of user rights and raises concerns over the potential misuse of personal information.
Those attending the NBTC’s meeting on the case on Monday included representatives of the related regulations and those of Possefy Group, an importer of Oppo smartphones, and Protha Co, an importer of Realme smartphones.
NBTC acting secretary-general Trairat Viriyasirikul said representatives of both importers clarified that the Fineasy app is not registered under licence as a personal loan service platform under the central bank’s system.
Representatives of the two brands said they do not know who is the real owner of the application as the app is pre-installed during the phone production process.
Mr Trairat said the NBTC asked both importers to present additional details on the case for its consideration on Jan 16, especially concerning the app’s collection of personal data.
Both importers said they will send a link to phone users, so they can remove the app within 30 days.
Pol Col Suraphong Plengkham, director of the inspection and supervision division of the Personal Data Protection Commission, said both brands are at high risk of breaching the Personal Data Protection Act, given the app collects a lot of personal data. The app has been in such mobile phone models since 2023. The brands also did not appoint data controllers in Thailand.
However, it is too early to establish their guilt, pending their complete clarification concerning the case.
Mr Trairat said both importers claimed there is no data leakage from the app.
Pol Gen Nathathorn Prousoontorn, NBTC commissioner in charge of legal affairs and chairman of the subcommittee on enforcement of technology crime laws, said under the regular process when mobile phone manufacturers put their mobile phone models on sale, they have to first request permission from the NBTC office to inspect the device’s technical standards, whether they are harmful to the health of users or whether the device frequency would interfere with other signals.
However, the NBTC does not have a duty to inspect the software or applications pre-installed on the devices.
The NBTC office has coordinated with Oppo and Realme to find a solution for customers as soon as possible.
Pol Gen Nathathorn said solving this problem would require the involvement of many parties.
Last week Oppo and Realme Thailand apologised for pre-installing the Fineasy app, a third-party programme offering loans, on their smartphones.
They also disclosed that they have removed all loan-related services from the app, retaining only features that provide greater convenience to users.
Both firms added that they are accelerating efforts to enable users to uninstall the app. If users want to remove the app immediately, they can contact customer service centres nationwide.