BANGKOK, Jan 14 (TNA) – Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has banned the sale of new OPPO and Realme smartphone models found to have pre-installed unauthorized loan applications.
The move follows complaints from consumers who discovered the “Fineasy” and “Happy Loan” apps embedded in their devices without their consent and with no option to uninstall them, according to Trairat Viriyasirikul, Deputy Secretary-General and Acting Secretary-General of the NBTC.
Representatives from Possefy Group Company Limited, the importer and distributor of OPPO phones, and Protha Company Limited, the importer and distributor of Realme phones, were summoned to a meeting with the NBTC to address the issue.
The meeting also included representatives from the National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA) and the Personal Data Protection Committee (PDPC), and the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, due to concerns over unauthorized access to personal data.
As an immediate measure, the NBTC has prohibited the sale of new OPPO and Realme phone models containing the loan apps, including devices scheduled for launch on January 14.
For existing users of older phone models, OPPO and Realme have requested up to one month to provide users with links to uninstall the apps. However, the PDPC deemed this timeframe too long and has requested both companies to present a revised timeline for corrective action by January 16. -819 (TNA)
