Navigating the World of Data Privacy and Protection: Insights from Data Protection and Privacy Masterclass
Data protection policies and laws are essential to ensure that all entities handle personal data responsibly and securely. Currently, only 37 out of 54 African countries have enacted data protection laws, and just 15 have ratified the Malabo Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection.
By Annex Kemanzi
With the increased use of online tools for school, work, and other activities, we are experiencing both opportunities and risks. While these tools offer easy access to information, error reduction, and automation, they also expose us to dangers such as stalking, data misuse, and harassment. This has led to massive amounts of personally identifiable data being collected both physically and digitally by governments, companies, and tech giants. In Africa, this has led to significant data exploitation by big data companies, raising critical questions about data protection and privacy. Many online users are left with the burden of protecting and regulating their data.
According to IBM, data protection involves safeguarding sensitive information from loss and corruption, ensuring its availability and compliance with regulatory requirements. Data privacy, on the other hand, is the principle that individuals should have control over their data, including how organisations collect, store, and use it. As our digital lives are increasingly transformed into computable and monetizable data, we face a systematic deprivation of control over this information. Individuals are sharing more personal information online, making data protection and privacy crucial to guard against breaches, scams, and misuse.
The masterclass, organised by Pollicy in collaboration with the Civic Technology Innovation Network, shed light on the various ways online users inadvertently share their data, such as through mobile money agents, face-editing apps, and health-tracking apps. The session emphasised the potential risks associated with these practices and aimed to raise awareness about data protection. Participants were introduced to several methods for safeguarding their online data. A standout feature of the session was the introduction of the “Where is My Data?” game, an interactive fiction card game designed to educate players about data privacy and security. This game challenges players to navigate through different data privacy and security scenarios to successfully reach the end of the track.
Data protection policies and laws are essential to ensure that all entities handle personal data responsibly and securely. Currently, only 37 out of 54 African countries have enacted data protection laws, and just 15 have ratified the Malabo Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection. This situation, coupled with low awareness levels, underscores the need for interactive learning approaches to raise awareness and help people understand the risks to their data.
Although individuals are taking the initiative to protect their data, there are significant power imbalances between stakeholders in the data economy — data subjects and controllers. For example, government agencies often have more power and control over data than civil society organisations or individuals, leading to unequal access to data and decision-making power. Also as individuals’ digital lives are transformed into monetizable data, users face a systematic deprivation of control challenge. The shared nature of data creation through interactions with interfaces created by data holders raises the question of who is rightfully entitled to control this personal data.
There is an urgent need to regulate the collection, processing, and use of data. With major companies like Google, Microsoft, and Instagram making many of these decisions, individuals, organisations, and governments need to take responsibility for ensuring equitable access and use of data. One innovative approach being adopted by civil society organisations is gamification, which empowers internet users with knowledge and insights into data privacy and security. This method fosters a sense of control over personal information in our increasingly digital world but also provides a more lived experience and nuanced understanding of data protection and management.
