WHY PRIVACY AND DATA PROTECTION MATTERS
Rallying calls for legislation to safeguard persons’ online activity, specifically their data privacy should not go unheard. The government ought to take prompt action to ensure users’ online activities are not susceptible to being exposed to the general public without their consent, and even worse for the slightest of reasons.
The latest uproar from advocates calling for urgent regulatory action to protect the privacy of online users comes at a time of increased digital activities globally, with Tanzania being one of the African countries with the fastest-growing users of internet.
What this high rate of digital growth means is that there will be a constant spike of online interactions not limited to one specific mode of communication. As such, a legal framework needs to be put in place so that internet and mobile users can rest assured of the protection of their constitutional right of having their privacy protected.
Even though there are traces of data and privacy protectionin some local legislation such as the Cybercrimes Act, advocates state that there needs to be one principle law that can be used as primary legislation forthe protection of people’s online activities.
A slither of hope in this longstanding back and forth onlegal backing for privacy and data protection was seen recently when theMinistry of Information and Communication Technology said that the governmentis in the final stages of preparing the long-awaited legislative Bill.
And as the Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Information and ICT ministry, Jim Yonazi, affirmed, the legal remedy seeks to address grievances stemming from claims of breach of data privacy.
But even as the government says it is laying the ground for the rollout of the legislation, activists and advocates’ concerns about the imperative nature of the situation needs to be addressed.
It is a norm that government processes can at times take an extraneous amount of time in an effort to tick boxes, but the implications should be weighed on the damage that can potentially be occasioned as a result of failure to act swiftly.
We have seen how the global technology company Facebook Inc. decided to rebrand to Metaverse; one of the reasons for this decision is the bad image it had garnered due to claims that it had allowed the hacking and leakage of data of users of their famous social media site Facebook. The repercussionshave been severe.
We don’t wish to see Tanzania reach such levels of extremes. One of the ways of averting the impending tragedy is to ensure that users know that their privacy and data is legally protected.
More to win than lose
The government stands to win a lot more than what it might lose by having a well-regulated online space. Cybercrimes will lessen and so will civil suits stemming from data breach. As advocate Caroline Kombe emphasized, data protection is all about the confidentiality of people’s information.
The government should be commended for acknowledging the need for privacy and data protection law, now it is time to see more action being taken to address this legal vacuum.
