The Internet and You. Us.
‘Data is the currency we use to access free services’
By Linet Kwamboka
The past year has been one of the most fulfilling years in my pursuit to sharpen my expertise on the issues of privacy and data protection. The quote that is my headline, above, came from an unknown source and really resonated with me in this work.
In this fellowship, I focused in-depth on a subject I am very passionate about and I had a great team of colleagues, advisors and support that helped me realize excellent results and understanding towards a subject that we should all be focused on and concerned about. I have been a part of a few fellowships and programs but none has really been like the Mozilla Fellowship. None has been quite as supportive and challenging while at the same time fulfilling.
I spent the better parts of 2011–2016 working on Kenya’s Open Data Project. This was undeniably my proudest moment. Being the project coordinator, my roles included forming communities with various users and suppliers of open data. This position put me in a great place of understanding the data ecosystem from both the local and global perspective. I became expert in the legislation to make data available, which then highlighted legislation we also needed to protect data and ensure privacy and integrity of the data.
Globally, there are 9 principles of open data that are celebrated and the push has been to make everything available openly and permanently. The principles dictate that open data should be:
- Complete
- Primary
- Timely
- Accessible
- Machine-readable
- Non-discriminatory
- Non-proprietary
- License-free
- Permanently available online
When I left the Kenyan Government in 2016, I sought to push one more agenda forward given my experience in opening up data by default — I sought to introduce the missing piece in the principles of open data: privacy.
‘Open Data should respect and uphold privacy of personal data’
I joined the Mozilla Foundation Fellowship in July 2017 with a focus on data protection and privacy in East Africa.Through the fellowship, I narrowed in on ‘privacy in the era of big data’ investigating how the countries — governments and citizens — in East Africa are addressing the ideas privacy and data protection. The work has been achieved through the analysis of various existing legislation, analysis of the gaps, and in interviewing and surveying various stakeholders.Over the course of the year in the fellowship, I have had some really valuable findings and experiences.
Some of my findings are available here:
- Privacy in the era of big data — why we need both laws and literacy
- Election Systems and Citizen data protection — identifying and preventing vulnerabilities
- Identity theft, is this really you? — How valid are our valid ID cards?
- The Internet of you — what do we really know about data protection?
- Dear Internet, I love you but we need to talk — where will Kenya go on data protection?
At the beginning of the fellowship, my general assumption was that everyone should care deeply about their privacy and the availability of their sensitive data online. I thought that many people would care about subjects like identity theft, data protection and terms and policies of use of products and services. Through the fellowship, I focused my work not only in speaking to policy makers on the progress of the pending policies that would ensure data protection but also in surveying regular citizens on their thoughts and experiences with exposure and misuse of their data, while also seeking their view on how we can progress the agenda of proper data protection and ensuring privacy.
With this work, I have only set the groundwork. The journey has just began. I will dedicate the next two years in being more involved in the data protection and privacy space, while using most of my resources and time in user sensitization, education and collaboration.
I seek to better understanding the things that affect our access to data and those that threaten our right to privacy and protection of our data. With the launch of the General Data Protection Regulation and most African countries redirecting their focus on cyber crimes, there is a lot to do moving forward and I invite anyone willing to join forces to see where this journey leads us.
Special thanks to Cori Zarek, Kevin Zawacki, the Tech Policy Fellows, the entire Mozilla family and the team at DataScience Ltd. Thanks for the support, encouragement and a wonderful past year.
