Business & Money

WPP breached law in Kenya over personal data of former CEO Scangroup

Senior leadership at advertising giant were accused of ousting Thakrar, by being motivated by “racial bias and neo-colonialist practices”.

Published

on

On Tuesday, October 30, the Kenyan Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) found WPP Scangroup liable for breaching the Kenya Data Protection Act by improperly handling the personal data of former CEO Bharat Thakrar. The regulator has ordered the group to pay compensation for failing to comply with data protection laws.

WPP Scangroup faces a lawsuit from former CEO Bharat Thakrar for alleged data breaches, racial bias, and reputational harm, claiming $30 million in damages.

By Maria Ward-Brennan

Advertising giant subsidiary WPP Scangroup breached Kenya’s data protection law when handling the personal data of its former CEO, the man suing it for over $30m (£23m).

Earlier this year, the former CEO of WPP Scangroup Bharat Thakrar launched legal action in Kenya against the board of WPP.

Senior leadership at advertising giant were accused of ousting Thakrar, by being motivated by “racial bias and neo-colonialist practices”.

He launched a lawsuit in Kenya against the board of the British company, claiming for unlawful interference, breaches of fiduciary duties and conspiracy to injure status and reputation.

Thakrar founded Scangroup, one of Africa’s largest marketing agencies, and in 2013, it became a subsidiary of WPP.

Speaking back in March, a spokesperson for WPP said “Bharat resigned from WPP-Scangroup in 2021, following allegations of impropriety between 2014 and 2018.”

However, in his claim, Thakrar claims the advertising giant “manipulated itself into a position to control the board of Scangroup” before making allegations against him.

He also alleged that the investigation into the allegations was supposed to be kept confidential; however, details were published in the media with the “express objective of defaming” him.

 WPP is reported to have denied the allegations.

It was revealed on Tuesday that the company was found liable by the Kenyan Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) for breaching the Kenya Data Protection Act, when they processed personal data of Thakrar.

The Kenyan regulator has ordered the group to pay compensation for failing to comply with the legislation.

The ODPC noted that during its investigation, WPP refused to provide it with copies of the report that had been shared with the Kenyan Capital Markets Authority.

A spokesperson for WPP said it disagreed with the determination by the ODPC, and are considering an appeal.

Keywords:WPP Scangroup lawsuit:Bharat Thakrar legal case:Kenya data protection breach:racial bias allegations:advertising industry scandal

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending

Exit mobile version