By Edrine Wanyama |
Leaders in charge of various data protection agencies and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) who met at the East African Exchange on Data Protection held in Kampala, Uganda on March 6, 2024, recognised the need to buttress data protection by promoting the right to privacy in the region.
The event drew representatives of government agencies and CSOs…
By CIPESA Writer |
On March 24, 2023, the High Court of Uganda at Kampala ruled to allow experts from Access Now, ARTICLE 19, and the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) to offer their opinions on the human rights red flags around the country’s digital identification (ID) system.
The ruling followed an application by…
By Edrine Wanyama |
On July 28, 2022, 82 practicing advocates in Uganda were trained on defending digital rights and freedoms. The training was organised by the International Senior Lawyers Project, the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), Uganda Law Society, and the Centre for Law and Democracy.
The sessions included an assessment of Uganda’s digital rights landscape, human rights issues affecting women journalists in…
By Unini Chioma |
In a reaction to TikTok’s various data privacy breaches and the likelihood of a further breach, a not-for-profit organisation -(Laws and Rights Awareness Initiative) has approached the High Court of Ogun State for redress for and on behalf of its members.
In Suit No. HCT/261/2020 filed on the 29th day of May 2020 by the law firm of Olumide…
By Edrine Wanyama |
It is anticipated that by 2025, there will be at least 5.9 billion mobile subscribers accounting for 71% of the world’s population. As of 2017, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) had a mobile subscription rate of 44% which is projected to reach 52% by 2025. Further, SSA’s mobile internet penetration by 2017 stood at 21% and is anticipated to…
Official Submission |
Article 27 of Uganda’s constitution provides for citizens’ right to privacy, however, there is no law to protect an individual’s data privacy despite the large amounts of citizen data collected by government departments and private entities on a regular basis. More concerning, is that this data is collected with no guarantee of its protection and privacy.
Some existing legislation,…
By Mailyn Fidler |
Two years ago, the African Union (AU) adopted its Convention on Cybersecurity and Personal Data Protection. The Convention seeks to improve how African states address cybercrime, data protection, e-commerce, and cybersecurity. However, only eight of the AU’s fifty-four members have signed the Convention, with none ratifying it. Despite this currently limited uptake, the Convention, and how the…
By Evelyn Lirri |
Journalists covering parliament in Uganda are facing challenges in reporting legislative developments on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) due to limited knowledge and poor access to information.
According to journalists from the Uganda Parliamentary Press Association (UPPA), the challenges are further exacerbated by some legislators’ limited knowledge and interest in ICT, and by the commercial interests of media…
By Juliet Nanfuka
Tanzania has published a Cybercrime Bill that makes “provisions for criminalizing offences related to computer systems and Information Communication Technologies” and provides for investigation, collection, and use of electronic evidence.
However, the release of the Cybercrime Bill has been met with apprehension by the public due to its overt disregard for press freedom and freedom of expression, the excessive…
Towards the end of 2014, Uganda’s government through the National Information Technology Authority (NITA-U), Ministry of Information Communication and Technology (MoICT) and the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs (MOJCA) issued a draft Data Protection and Privacy Bill for public comment.
The Bill seeks to protect the privacy of the individual and personal data by regulating the collection and processing of…