The Personal Data Protection Committee (PDPC) has sent a list of 11 suspicious mobile applications on Google Play Store to the Bank of Thailand to check whether they provide a personal loan service without registering with the regulator.
Wetang Phuangsup, acting secretary-general of the PDPC, said the move follows the pre-installation of two allegedly unlicensed personal loan apps on some mobile models of Chinese brands Oppo and its subsidiary Realme.
Two apps are related to the Fineasy app, while a third-party loan app is known as "Happy Loan" in English.
Both the PDPC and the National Cyber Security Agency expanded investigations of Fineasy and Happy Loan to cover other loan apps, finding 11 suspicious apps in Google Play Store, he said.
The agencies sent this information to the central bank for further investigation, said Mr Wetang.
He said if the regulator finds these 11 apps are illegal, it can order them to cease services in Thailand, in coordination with Google.
Mr Wetang said regarding Fineasy and Happy Loan, 40 people filed complaints against Oppo and Realme as well as their distributors, alleging the apps operated illegally and collected personal data, breaching the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA).
The number of complainants rose from 11 last week, he said.
The details of the complaints will be submitted to an expert committee for examination and further fines, said Mr Wetang.
In a related matter, he said representatives of Oppo met the PDPC to clarify the news that 165 gigabytes of data from Oppo Thailand, including customers' personal data, was being offered for sale on a dark website.
The leaked data includes employee records from the company's human resources database and in-depth operational information from its internal platforms.
The seller was asking US$20,000 (673,000 baht) for the data.
The PDPC instructed Oppo Thailand to investigate the leak, assess the risks and submit a detailed report within 72 hours.
The committee wants to verify whether a breach occurred in order to mitigate any potential damage.
If the PDPA was violated, arrests will follow and the case will be sent to an expert committee to issue administrative measures, according to the PDPC.
Possefy Group Co Ltd, the local Oppo distributor, recently released a statement acknowledging the issue, saying it reported the breach to the PDPC's Eagle Eye Centre and the police.
Regarding the Fineasy and Happy Loan cases, the Digital Economy and Society Ministry issued 10 guidelines for related parties to handle pre-installed apps, aiming to protect consumers and prevent apps from breaching the law.
The guidelines take immediate effect, with one rule manufacturers should set criteria for selecting only necessary apps, which must not affect user privacy.
On Jan 17 Oppo Thailand executives held a press conference to apologise to customers regarding the Fineasy and Happy Loan apps.
The company said it stopped installing the two apps on its new smartphone models since Jan 14.
As of Jan 16, Oppo has gradually released software updates for mobile users to uninstall the Fineasy app.
The company said it strictly complies with laws on privacy and data safety in all countries.
Realme released a similar statement on the same day, noting it stopped Happy Loan operations on Jan 14.
