On 28th January each year, governments, parliaments, data protection authorities and civil society promote individual rights to data protection and privacy with various awareness raising activities.
Again in this year, Ghana participated locally with activities in various regions including sensitization workshops in schools and participated internationally in the annual Data Protection gathering, held in Brussels for Practitioners, Policy-makers, Lawyers, Academics and Civil Society, contributing, exchanging ideas, providing thought leadership and discussing current emerging issues and trends, ensuring that Ghana’s voice is represented on the global stage.
Digitization, automation, and technological advancements are exponentially impacting every facet of humanity. In an increasingly digitalized and technologically advanced society, larger amounts of information than ever are being processed, access all sectors at high volumes and veracity and with increased velocity, putting protection at core of today’s digitalized world.
In line with the government of Ghana’s National Transformation Agenda to position Ghana as the gateway to Africa, the country has taken positive steps within the digital sector, and was one of the first four countries in Africa, and also the second Anglophone country besides Mauritius, to ratify the Malabo Convention on Cyber Security and Data Protection, an important treaty which combines the two critical pillars of the cyber age.
Representing the Minister of Communications, Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful (MP), at the Data Protection Commission Celebration, Mr. Vincent Sowah Odotei, a Deputy Minister of Communications, in his keynote address, said the Data Protection Act 2012 ( Act843) was pivotal in striking the balance which promotes economic productivity, whilst protecting the rights of individuals as a Fundamental Human Right.
The celebration which outdoored the
achievements and the opening of a new chapter in Data Processing and Enforcement of the Data Protection Commission, on 6th February, 2019, at the DPC Office in Accra, East Legon, was dubbed, “A New Chapter Enforcing Accountability and Empowering Data Subjects”.
According to Mr. Sowah, the government of Ghana recognizes the advantages and benefits of a digital economy, and the revolutionary transformation in some sectors were undeniable, such as in the provision of financial services.
Again, he said, government recognizes the importance of framework which ensures that growth of the digital economy was balanced with the security and protection of the personal data of people in the country by increasing transparency, fairness and accuracy.
“Across Africa, Ghana is seen as a trail blazer in this effort and one of only 14/countries in Africa, that has passed the law,” Mr. Vincent Odotei said.
He further expatiated that, the speed of digitalization and the accelerated growth in amount of data available and enabled by Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Internet of Things were only set to increase the aggregation of personal data from multiple sources for decision making, based on individual behavior (otherwise known as profiling), with the potential invasion of privacy.
He also noted that, a Chatham House report titled, “Regulating the Data that Drive 21st-Century Economic Growth”, estimates that, the digital universe will grow nearly 20 times during 2015-2025 to 180 zettabytes or 180 trillion gigabytes.
The Data Protection Commission is an agency of the Ministry of Communications mandated to protect the privacy of the individual and personal data as well as enforce the data protection law.
On her part as the Executive Director of the Data Protection Commission (DPC),
Ms. Patricia Adusei-Poku, said, data controllers who will breach the Data Protection Law would be prosecuted in a collaborative effort by the Data Protection Commission and the Attorney-General’s Office.
She however said, the names of data controllers and their businesses would be published in the national dailies for irresponsible conduct, to sanction them for failure to register with the Commission as required by law.
Ms. Adusei-Poku, said the Data Protection Law took retrospective effect and affected every facet of life, however, any data controller, not duly registered with the Commission, was at a high risk of being prosecuted and fined appropriately.
Adding that, with the support of the World Bank, the Commission had secured new software for registration purposes and to provide a road map for data compliance, to be out-doored in April, 2019.
She however, underpinned some successes chalked by the Commission since its inception, training about 60 data controller practitioners and carried out educational campaigns to sensitise the citizenry on data protection, and many other successes.
Ms. Adusei-Poku, seized the opportunity to announced that, the Commission was going to host the First International Data Protection Conference from June 22 to 28, at the Accra International Conference Centre for the African Network of Data Protection Authorities.
The conference, she said, would bring together data controllers, businesses and agencies involved in data gathering, processing and preservation to discuss critical issues as far as data privacy and protection was concerned.
Key among industry players who had already confirmed their participation were Microsoft, Facebook, United Nations Special Rapporteurs, ECOWAS, Common Wealth and Council of Europe and World Bank CGAP.
The event saw many heads of stakeholder agencies, some of which were the National Identification Authority, National Cyber Security Advisor, Chamber of Telecommunications, the Audit Service, National Communications Authority, Consumer Protection Agency (CPA), Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), The Chairperson of the DPC, Mrs. Justice Helena Inkumsah-Abban, State Enterprises Commission, and many others.
