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Many private and public organizations such as telecommunication companies, banks, airlines and other companies always collect, use and retain personal information of people.
However, in Africa, there is a growing population of mobile technologies and internet users, there are few or no specific laws and regulations to protect the privacy of these individuals.
Recent cases of the British badytical firm Analytica Cambridge that inappropriately accessed about 50 million Facebook users. , tells the story of Africa's vulnerability to such practices
The parent company of Cambridge Analytica, SCL Group, has been accused of having collected millions of profiles on Facebook and from Worked in Kenya and Nigeria in 2013 and 2017. 2015 respectively.
Unlike Europe, where discussions on data confidentiality led to the establishment of regulatory frameworks such as the recent General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Africa, such conversations are still taking place at meetings and conferences.
Various statistics show that more than half of the 54 countries in Africa have no data protection legislation. Even those who have legislation in place, there are no regulators to enforce them.
For example, in Nigeria, the African country with the most Internet users, a data protection law introduced in 2010 continues to make its way.
In Kenya, a country of 44 million inhabitants with some 8.5 million Facebook users on a monthly basis, there is no specific law on data protection.
In Rwanda, there is an ICT law which provides that "the voice or data communications of each subscriber or user, made through one or more electronic communications networks, must remain confidential for Subscriber and / or the user to whom the voice or data are intended "
. There is no comprehensive law on data protection and privacy.
Fraser Graham, senior director of political engagement at the GSMA, believes that it's very important to design more specific laws that protect people's data and privacy. important, especially with the change of the digital landscape.
"What we think is that the introduction of favorable policies is important for the continent, and we are calling for a fundamental re-examination of the policy and regulatory frameworks to adapt them to the ecosystem. he said in Kigali during the ongoing M360 Africa series
.This digital ecosystem accounted for 7.9% of GDP in Europe.Last year, the region of ?? Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the latest GSMA report on the mobile economy, was released Tuesday.
According to Graham, GSMA, the global telecom operators' badociation held a conversation this week. Data Protection and Privacy in Africa
"One of the priorities that has emerged is to draw the attention of Africans to data protection; Boris Wojtan of the GSMA also argued that one of the key factors for Africa to exploit the digital opportunity is to have a smart data privacy framework that allows for trust and confidence. # 39; innovation.
"We have seen the development of data privacy laws in some parts of Africa, but the question is how to get the right results and make sure that the laws on data protection be adopted throughout the region. "
The expert however wonders if Africa will ever have data protection authorities It was funded to do the work of implementation and law enforcement in the process of development.
The African Union (AU) adopted a convention on cybersecurity and personal data in 2014, but this has not yet taken off.
Infrastructure Is Key
Africa Has World's Lowest Internet Penetration Rates, But Improved Digital Infrastructure, Increased Use smartphones and the proliferation of spaces for innovation "
Jean-Francois Le Bihan, another expert, said that for the continent to effectively remove an economic value from this remarkable digital shit, more investment should also be done in the digital infrastructure. [19659002] This, he adds, can go a long way in ensuring that citizens' personal data are not violated.
In some countries, organizations are hosting data from their consumers outside their country, according to some experts. But Bihan said that there was a growing number of digital infrastructures like data centers in Africa, stressing that cross-border data flows might not really be a problem if good governance is in place.
Last year alone, telecommunications companies in sub-Saharan Africa together invested US $ 8 billion in network rollout. According to experts, this should be an annual trend for the next three years.
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