| Authority: | PDPC |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction: | Tanzania |
| Relevant law: | Legal Provisions Reviewed |
| Type: | Complaint |
| Outcome: | Violation |
| Started: | 2024 |
| Decided: | 19 August 2025 |
| Published: | Yes |
| Fine: | TZS. 20,000,000/- (Compensation) & TZS.5,000,000/- (Fine) |
| Parties: | Nyangoma Mwesingwa (suing as next friend of CAG (Minor) |
| Case No./Parties: | Complaint No. PDPC/CMP/002/2025 |
| Appeal: | N/A |
| Original Source: | PDPC |
| Original contributor: | MZIZI Africa |
Nyangoma sued Cecilia for unlawful commercial use of her baby's photo on Instagram without consent. Cecilia reposted it from social media for her business. The regulator found Cecilia violated data protection laws by processing sensitive data and commercially exploiting the image. She was ordered to pay TZS 20M compensation, TZS 5M fine, and delete photos.
According to Nyangoma Mwesingwa, the applicant, on 25th December 2024, she was browsing her personal Instagram account when she saw a picture of her baby, CAG (minor), shortly after birth. This photo was on Cecilia Constantinus's Instagram page. Nyangoma had been following pages related to pregnancy and parenting, which is how she came across the photo, as she was pregnant herself at the time.
She informed her sister, Nyakato Mwesigwa, about the Instagram page and the photos of her baby. The most shocking part was the caption accompanying the photo, which read: "Tupunguze zawadi za pampers na vitenge, it is a baby girl". This post had gone viral with over 1,114 shares, 857 likes, and 32 comments, all without her knowledge or consent.
The applicant sent a message to Cecilia on Instagram, requesting her to delete the photo of her baby and not to use it for commercial purposes, but Cecilia did not respond. Nyakato also sent a message requesting the removal of the photo, stating that they did not have consent to use it. Despite these efforts, Cecilia did not delete the image, and the photo remained on the respondent's Instagram page. Nyangoma also stated that she made a phone call to the respondent, who arrogantly replied that "she should not threaten her and she is at liberty to sue her anywhere".
The applicant sought the following from the Commission:
In her defence, Cecilia Maliganya, the respondent, explained that she is involved in the sale of products for children, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers. She further stated that she does not personally know the complainant. The respondent claimed that she came across a photograph of a child on a social media platform, although she could not recall the specific page. She admitted that upon seeing the image, she liked it and proceeded to repost it on her own Instagram account with the caption "Tupunguze zawadi za pampers na vitenge it is a baby girl".
The respondent stated that she was unsure which specific image the complainant was referring to, as there were numerous pictures of children on her account. She further explained that she had responded by saying that if the Complainant did not want the image of her child to be circulated, it should not have been uploaded to social media in the first place. She clarified that this response was given without knowing that she was communicating with a parent of the child in question.