Google Moves to Stop Predatory Lending Practices

• Google is updating its Personal Loans policy for apps in the Google Play store.
• The update prohibits lending apps from accessing borrower’s personal information and bans unlicensed lending apps from the Google Play Store.
• The new rules go into effect May 31.

Google updated the Personal Loans policy for its Google Play store this week, adding a restriction to protect end users from predatory loan practices.

The update restricts lending apps from accessing sensitive user data– including photos, videos, call logs, precise location, and external data. The move comes as a response to recent unethical, predatory practices. According to TechCrunch, there have been reports of debt collectors associated with lending apps on the Google Play store that have inappropriately leveraged user data in an attempt to collect on borrowers in default.

Specifically, debt collectors in both India and Kenya have allegedly called a borrower’s friends and family to inform them of the user’s debt and have even manipulated images from the borrower’s camera roll in an attempt to intimidate them. TechCrunch reports that these moves have, in “a number” of cases, caused borrowers to take their own lives.

The update, which will be implemented on May 31, states, “Apps that provide personal loans, or have the primary purpose of facilitating access to personal loans (i.e., lead generators or facilitators), are prohibited from accessing sensitive data, such as photos and contacts.”

Google’s update this week also bans unlicensed lending apps from the Android app store. These illegitimate apps are likely some of the primary offenders in predatory practices towards borrowers.

Photo by Anete Lusina

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• Source: https://finovate.com/google-moves-to-stop-predatory-lending-practices/