Is Kiva respecting the privacy of its borrowers?
6 May 2009
When any of us wants to borrow money from the bank, whether it is for a new car or a home, or even to start a business, we expect complete confidentiality from our bank. It’s a private matter between us and the bank staff.
Yet, when Kiva borrowers need a loan, we expect them to agree to have their information posted on the internet for all to see, along with a picture and sometimes even a video. Are we unnecessarily invading their privacy?
Clearly borrowers are not being forced. They have a choice. Indeed, I am told by the loan officers here at Ameen that some people often do object to the picture in particular and choose not to take a Kiva loan at all. They are then offered another loan product Ameen provides not funded through Kiva.
However, if Kiva provides people with an opportunity where there would not otherwise be one, we realize that we are urging borrowers to, in a sense, give up their privacy for a loan. Is it fair to put them in that situation?
Before I arrived at my host MFI and began to meet borrowers, I had not thought about the privacy of borrowers. I only thought that the information being provided was necessary to facilitate the connecting between lenders and borrowers and to make Kiva possible. The amazing power of the Kiva concept and the opportunity it was providing borrowers in poor communities was all I saw.
Kiva already does a lot to protect a borrower’s privacy, like giving MFIs the option of hiding a borrower’s last name, or not listing the actual address of their business. These are definitely great features. But I think we should be able to do more to protect their privacy. Here are some of the things I find disturbing at present:
- Borrowers can be searched on Google by anyone.
- Borrowers pictures are online for anyone to see along with their first names.
- Personal information is listed, such as marital status and number of children and their business activity, making it possible for people to identify them with a little effort.
Another related issue I find disturbing is that borrowers are being labeled as poor when they do not necessarily see themselves as such. Poverty means different things in different places. A person asking for a loan from a partner MFI for their economic activity works hard and provides for his or her family and may not see themselves as poor.
I must say that the team in charge of the Kiva Fellows Program and the training we went through as fellows, was careful to highlight the need to avoid “cultural imperialism” in implementing Kiva. I feel that the more concern for the privacy of borrowers falls within this.
Some suggestions for increasing privacy protection for borrowers could be:
- Restrict access to the full information on borrowers to Kiva registered users or even active lenders on Kiva.
- Provide borrowers some optionality to provide as much information as they feel comfortable providing.
I think that as Kiva grows and matures, the privacy of Kiva borrowers should be looked at more closely to see how we can better balance the interests of lenders and those of the borrowers. As users on the internet we are always reminded of the importance of protecting our privacy. Why shouldn’t Kiva borrowers also have the same level of protection? This should be especially important given that the bulk of these borrowers have no access to the internet.
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Nemr is a KF7 Kiva Fellow spending 12 weeks at Ameen. You can also check out his personal blog here. Check out some of Ameen’s borrowers and make a loan today by clicking here.
Entry Filed under: All, Ameen, KF7 (Kiva Fellows 7th Class), Lebanon. Tags: Borrowers, Kiva, Kiva Fellows, Kiva Policy, Nemr Kanafani, Privacy.
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3. nickcain | 7 May 2009 at 04:46
Great points Nemr. I too have thought a lot about the issue of whether borrowers self-identify as poor, but until now I hadn’t thought of it as a privacy issue. I’m not sure what the solution is, as Kiva has good reasons for using the phrase “lifting people out of poverty”. Either way, discussion is a good thing.
4. eldorn | 7 May 2009 at 06:40
Very forward thinking Nemr. I think you’re right, as Kiva grows it may be more important to protect client privacy. As I have been doing research into US Microfinance, this is certainly an issue that gets raised. “Poverty” here in the US is an especially relative topic compared to internationally. I’ve begun to think of microfinance less as lifting people out of poverty and more as giving people tools to create prosperity.
5. Sierra Visher | 7 May 2009 at 07:03
Hi Nemr- I agree with you. Sometimes pulling out the camera felt really invasive. Yes they agreed to the picture, but I often wondered if they did more because they weren’t sure how to refuse this foreigner in front of them with their bank representative standing to her left.
Also, many of the borrowers I met would consider themselves middle class. Indeed they are. It was hard to explain Kiva in this context.
Good thinking, and I welcome further discussions about borrower privacy.
Great post!
-Sierra (KF6)
6. Ted Caine | 7 May 2009 at 07:07
Privacy is one of my main concerns with our foundation. We are modelling our concept along the lines of Kiva’s. We want to have people in need listed on our website and our members be able to donate to those in need. Personalizing the need is important but I am thinking that we have to come up with a way to protect someone’s privacy.
Good for you Nemr for raising this topic!
7. Unilove | 7 May 2009 at 08:57
I think Eldorn above stated it perfectly: “I’ve begun to think of microfinance less as lifting people out of poverty and more as giving people tools to create prosperity.”
a very thought-provoking post….
8. Jan & John | 7 May 2009 at 09:02
Kiva Friends forum has had a number of discussions around privacy both for borrowers and for lenders. It seems to be a fine line to draw between what needs to be shared to tempt people to lend and what needs to be hidden for privacy purposes. So many of us are on social network sites like Facebook that we don’t realize that the concept might be alien to people who don’t use computers at all. It will be interesting to see which concept gains acceptance. jan
9. Emanuela | 7 May 2009 at 12:03
Hi Nenr! Very interesting post
I am very happy to see that there still are Internet surfer not totally lost in the “lack-of-privacy” logic of Facebook & Co.
I have to confess that at first seeing pictures of the borrowers sort of helped me relate to them (in the same way, I guess, in which, working for an international firm, I feel somehow more linked to my colleagues in other countries once I’ve seen their picture on our intranet). I do realize, though, that for some communities having their picture takes is something that strikes even violently against their cultural and religious beliefs, and as much as I do want to help my fellow humans in need I certainly do not want to disrespect them in the process.
On top of the suggestions you’ve made in the post, I was thinking that maybe Kiva could show a picture of the activity of the borrower, rather than his or her face, so that lenders could still have an idea of what borrowers are doing without Kiva (or us the lenders) inveding their private space; or pictures of the borrowers could be taken against a white (or any other color at that) projector screen, in order to show something “physical” about the borrower without having necessarily to depict his whereabouts or the place he lives in.
Ciao from Italy
Emanuela
10. Terri Cain | 7 May 2009 at 17:11
Thought provoking post. Certainly informed consent is important. Perhaps asking the borrowers what they’d be most comfortable with and/or proud of when it comes to a picture and/or video? I would hope that presenting it as an opportunity to take pride in their entrepreneurship as opposed to “self-identifying” as poor could ameliorate possible stigma. They are doing something positive for themselves, their families, and their communities. The sense of partnership and community is what’s important, I think. This is not charity. Maybe the loan officers could bring out laptops to show the borrowers the lenders’ pictures on the web?
Who makes those very inexpensive computers that can be hand powered? Just a random thought. – Privacy issues should continue to be discussed.
11. John Briggs | 7 May 2009 at 17:44
Excellent post, Nemr. As Kiva grows, it should continue to think hard about policy and practice that helps ensure the privacy of borrowers *and* MFI personnel in the field.
Most borrowers I’ve met as a Kiva Fellow in the Philippines are enthusiastic about having their stories and photos posted to Kiva. However, most of them have never used the Internet and I think few are able to grasp the implications of their information being put on Kiva.
As part of policy, I think it would be a good idea to have MFI personnel explain as best as possible what being on Kiva really means.
When I go to collect information and photos for a journal, I always bring a printout of the borrower’s Kiva page and show it to them. Before I begin asking questions or taking photos, I explain that through the Internet, their information can be seen easily by people the world over. My hope is that this helps them understand how their information is really being used.
Although I explain this to the borrowers I meet, I only get to meet a fraction of the borrowers my MFI (Ahon Sa Hirap Inc. aka ASHI) puts on Kiva. The rest of the borrowers only have contact with MFI personnel for things Kiva-related. I know that MFI personnel get borrowers to sign a waiver before photos are taken, but as part of policy I don’t think they’ve been instructed to explain to borrowers the implications of how the information will be used, or the breadth of information that will be used.
I think it would be good to require MFIs to make such disclosure to potential Kiva borrowers, and allow them to opt out once disclosure has been made.
If the borrower agrees to participate, once their information goes on Kiva some of it should be publicly available to anyone who’s interested. But more sensitive information — specific location, family details, income particulars, etc. — should only be available to registered Kiva lenders, MFI personnel, authorized Kiva guests (potential lenders who have to provide their credit card information to see full detail, for example), and most importantly the borrowers themselves.
Kiva should also take steps to ensure that details about MFI personnel are protected. Many loan officers are identified by name in journals, and some are identified in business profiles. If borrowers seem a target for thieves who might do research on Kiva, MFI personnel who often transport relatively large amounts of cash may be even more at risk.
To be successful and compelling, Kiva needs vital details about borrowers. But it must work to safeguard those details as best possible; new initiatives such as detailed GPS and location information on borrowers makes this discussion even more timely. Establishing levels of privacy would go a long way to helping satisfy that.
12. kieranball | 7 May 2009 at 18:41
Firstly, great post Nemr. I was going to be the first to comment but my internet cut out, and when I got back on this had happened! Can open, worms… everywhere.
Part of me is kind of sad that this stuff is only being scrutinized now that Kiva are in the US.
I think that if you are lending money to somebody, you have a right to certain information about them. But on Kiva you don’t have to lend money to get this information.
Perhaps Kiva could change the site so that names and other sensitive info are kept anonymous unless you’ve actually lent to that person.
Secondly, John Briggs – you clearly have some pent up words inside you, how about putting them in a blog!! I’d love to read it!
13. RobC | 8 May 2009 at 07:10
Just as counterpoint, I found that in some communities borrowers viewed their status with pride. It tended to imply that they were more industrious and successful than their neighbors and worthy of receiving credit.
I’d agree that explicit consent to the publishing of personal information is a firm requirement to operate ethically. I did have a few people who weren’t comfortable with having a photo taken (typically women in male-dominated cultures) and this objection was always honored without repercussion. They remained clients of the MFI but omitted from Kiva’s portfolio.
14. howard | 9 May 2009 at 17:55
It’s nice to be sensitive to the privacy needs of Kiva borrowers but my guess is (with absolutely no hard information to back it up) that most borrowers are much more concerned with obtaining the loan than they are with maintaining their privacy. (That’s what I imagine would be my attitude if the situation were reversed.)
However as with most things I could be wrong. I think that Kiva could make the photos (and perhaps even names) optional with the understanding that possibly the more privacy maintained by a borrower the fewer Kiva lenders might choose to lend to that borrower. Let the borrower make that choice. And then the lender(s) can make their choice.
Note that such a choice is seldom if ever given to a prospective borrower in our first world situation. A prospective borrower can’t choose to withhold any private information that a bank requires. Not unless it’s forbidden by law or the borrower doesn’t care whether or not he/she get the loan.
15. Brett Dobbs | 11 May 2009 at 05:12
Briggs basically covered everything I wanted to. Fantastic post Nemr.
16. Ed Tracy | 19 May 2009 at 20:09
As a lender I must say I use all the information provided along with the photos. This allows me to make a choice as to who gets a loan and into which enterprise. Lacking the criteria generally used in most of the developed world for loan assessment such as tax returns full employment income statements credit reports etc. it is important to have enough information to make a good assessment. These are loans not charity. I would be reluctant to lend if all I had to go on was a “trust me” from the lending agency partner. I need all the information I can get. It should be available only to lenders as registrants.
17. Mickey Mikeworth | 21 May 2009 at 14:24
As one of KIVA’s first lenders I must say the ability to SEE the faces of whom I am doing business with changes the entire picture for the brighter.
I WILL ALSO REMIND EVERYONE:
The borrowers can also see my face, my loan history, and I am searched, personally I am very traceable, and I think that is a fair trade. Both lender and borrower are on equal footing as privacy is concerned. For those of us who are in the public eye OUR privacy is far more at risk because public profiled lenders have become “attached” to those deeds and those faces on the internet. It shows up in job interviews, background checks, and yes- it posts on my facebook.
I would guess that is why so many OPT OUT of a photo. When the lender can opt out of a face photo I personally find it to be very easy to be culturally decoded as “bad manners” and insulting to the fair trade of “I see you and you see me” “we are even” and that is how partnerships are forged -in this case with a JPEG handshake and a google-ablity pact.
I will challenge you to not assume that every KIVA lender has no global experience, that we have not been in your shoes trying to change the world, or that we do not also understand that wealth has many facets. Private micro lenders are a unique and very small crowd that clearly understand this is NOT CHARITY and have opted IN to putting resources towards investing in the REAL diamond- humanity- and not just the facets or perceived wealth.