On November 8, 2023, the Telecommunications/ICT Regulatory Authority of Côte d'Ivoire (ARTCI) announced that it had published, on August 23, 2023, its decision No. 2023-0937, in which it issued a warning to Yango CIV LLC and formal notice to deactivate the YANGO app managed by the same, for violations of the Law 2013-450 on the Protection of Personal Data (the Law). 

Background to the decision 

In particular, ARTCI noted that it had carried out investigations into potential recordings of conversations within user vehicles through the YANGO app without the individuals' prior knowledge or consent. 

Findings of ARTCI 

Following its investigation, ARTCI found the following: 

• illegal recording of the telephone conversations of passengers without prior authorization from ARTCI (Article 7 of the Law); 
• illegitimate processing of personal data as data subjects did not give express prior consent (Article 14 of the Law); 
• no reason for derogation from the requirements of personal data protection found in Article 16 of the Law; 
• violation of data retention principle (Article 16 of the Law); 
• processing was disproportionate, inadequate, and not relevant (Article 16 of the Law); 
• personal data recipients were not clearly identified (Article 9 of the Law); 
• lack of transparency of processing (Articles 18 and 28 of the Law); and 
• rights of data subjects were not respected (Articles 9 and 29 to 34 of the Law).  

Outcomes 

Accordingly, ARTCI pronounced the following orders: 

• a warning for illicit recordings of conversations of passengers on the YANGO app; 
• a formal notice to deactivate the YANGO app without delay and, until further notice, the option to record telephone conversations on it; 
• a warning for non-compliance with data protection obligations; 
• blocking and immediate deletion of customer audio recording data; 
• designate the correspondent for data protection in the company, within seven days of receipt of the decision, and notify ARTCI; and 
• begin compliance with data processing in accordance with the Law. 

You can read the press release here and the decision here, both only available in French.