A landmark court ruling has ordered Bolt Holdings Ou, the data processor for the popular ride-hailing platform Bolt, to pay GHC1.9 million in damages to Justice Noah Adade, a lecturer and CEO of a software solutions company.
The Adentan Circuit Court’s decision came after it found Bolt guilty of negligence in failing to detect identity theft. In August 2022, Mr. Adade ordered a Bolt ride only to discover that his own identity had been stolen and used by a driver.
The driver, Peter Walker, was revealed to be Mr. Adade’s employee. Walker admitted to stealing his boss’s identity and successfully registering himself as a driver on the Bolt app.
Mr. Adade took the matter to court, alleging that Bolt’s failure to verify the driver’s identity constituted negligence.
The court, presided over by Her Honour Sedinam Awo Kwadam, agreed. It ruled that Bolt breached its duty of care owed to Mr. Adade by failing to conduct liveliness identity verification checks during driver registration.
This failure also contravened Section 20 of Ghana’s Data Protection Act, which requires data processors to obtain prior consent from data subjects.
The court noted that Bolt’s negligence subjected Mr. Adade to emotional distress, trauma, and reputational damage.
Bolt’s claims of diligence and reasonable care were dismissed by the court, which stated that there was no evidence to suggest Mr. Adade contributed to the identity theft.
In her ruling, Her Honour Sedinam Awo Kwadam emphasized the importance of organizations prioritizing data protection and adhering to statutory standards.
The court ordered Bolt to pay GHC1.9 million in compensation and GHC20,000 in legal fees. Additionally, the Data Protection Commission must conduct a forensic audit of Bolt’s systems and database to verify driver identities.
