NPC orders Grab Philippines to suspend in-car audio, video recording in Metro Manila

February 5, 2020

The National Privacy Commission (NPC) has ordered Grab Philippines to suspend its in-car audio and video recording in Metro Manila.

In a Notice of Deficiencies issued to Grab Philippines last Friday, the NPC found several deficiencies in its selfie verification, pilot test of the in-vehicle audio recording, and pilot test of the in-vehicle video recording that may endanger the privacy rights of the riding public. 

NPC said Grab Philippines did not sufficiently identify and assess the risks posed by the data processing systems to the rights and freedoms of data subjects, saying that “only the risks faced by the company were taken into account” in its Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA).    

“The video recording system will also enable Grab employees to monitor the situation live from the Grab Office and take photos of what is happening inside the vehicle, once the driver prompts the office through an emergency button,” the notice reads.  

In a meeting, company representatives said the photo, audio and video files collected through the three systems will be released upon request to police authorities in the event of dispute, conflict or complaint.

The public, however, was not told any of this information through Grab Philippines’ privacy notice and privacy policy.

Grab Philippines’ in-car audio and video recording pilot study in Metro Manila started last January as part of new security measures to protect both riders and drivers. 

The pilot study will run for two to six weeks with over 180 GrabCar vehicles, of which half will be equipped with in-car cameras and the rest with audio-recording capabilities. DMS



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