Companies cannot continue using a former employee's photograph for commercial purposes without consent, the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner has ruled.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

The regulator ordered an employer to pay a former employee Ksh500,000 after finding that his image was used on the company's website and social media platforms to market its services after his employment had ended.

The ODPC found that the continued use of the photograph amounted to commercial use of personal data and violated Section 37 of the Data Protection Act, which requires express consent for such use unless it is otherwise authorised by law.

The determination has brought attention to what happens to employees' photographs after they leave a company, particularly images initially collected when they joined the organisation.

📌 What You Need to Know

For many employees, submitting a passport-size photograph is a routine part of joining a new workplace . The photograph may be requested for an employee identification card, staff records, security purposes or other administrative requirements.

Data protection rules limit how personal information can be retained and used. The Data Protection Act requires personal data to be kept only as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose it was collected, subject to legal exceptions.

The Data Protection (General) Regulations also require organisations to have measures for dealing with personal data once the purpose for which it was collected has lapsed, including erasing, deleting, anonymising or pseudonymising data where appropriate.

In the case before the ODPC, the former employee said his photograph had continued appearing on his former employer's website and social media pages after his employment ended.

He told the regulator that his image had been used in marketing campaigns, including material promoting VIP protection services, and argued that the continued use was taking place without his permission.

The employer acknowledged that the photograph had remained on its website but described the continued display as an oversight. It told the ODPC that it eventually suspended the website in December 2024 after a complaint concerning the use of former employees' images.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke