Privacy

CIPESA Convenes Journalists to Discuss Uganda’s Data Protection Bill

By Esther Nakkazi |

Ugandan citizens’ personal data may be at risk of misuse if the Uganda Data protection and Privacy Bill (2014) to be tabled before parliament is passed in current form. Currently, large entities like telecommunications service providers, insurers, hospitals and even schools retain the information of millions of citizens who remain unaware of how secure their information is, especially as more of…

CIPESA Promotes Digital Safety Awareness and Skills for Media Practitioners in Kenya

By Marilyn Vernon and Liz Orembo |

Threats to citizens’ access to information, privacy, security and freedom of expression online are increasingly coming under scrutiny in East Africa. According to the World Press Freedom Index, Kenya who was ranked number 71 out of 180 countries in 2013, dropped 29 places to number 100 in 2014. Meanwhile, cybercrime is also on the rise in the country. The Kenya…

OpenNet Africa Challenge Uncovers Gaps in Digital Safety Tools

By Ashnah Kalemera |

There are numerous tools which can secure online users’ communications, including through anonymising their identities and enabling them to circumvent online surveillance and censorship. In some cases, developers have gone on to localise such tools to suit various contexts. However, the tools’ relevance to certain populations and how best to improve them for a diverse range of…

Reflections on Uganda’s Draft Data Protection and Privacy Bill, 2014

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…