Data Protection - A global perspective

Dr. Isaac Rutenberg

Director, Centre for Intellectual Property
and Information Technology Law
 Overview
• Privacy
• Data protection - a global perspective
• Kenya’s DPA in a global perspective
• Future of data protection.
Privacy
 Privacy

Seclusion or freedom from being in public view

Historically:
● Privacy of the person
● Privacy of property:
- searches of property
- seizures of physical property
Privacy rights - right of publicity
 Informational privacy

Informational privacy
• privacy of communications
• agency in how data about myself is collected, processed/
used, disposed etc
• digital surveillance
• cookies, tracking etc
Data Protection
 Why data protection?

• Growth in use of digital technologies

– 4IR, IoT, digital government services etc
• Digital disruption
– Digital key part in any global/continental/local policy eg
AfCTA
• Commercialisation of personal data
– personal ads
• Political use of data
– political mobilisation, persuasion
 What is data protection?

• Using privacy to regulate the use of personal data

• Ensuring that processing of personal data is done while
considering the data subject
• Giving the data subject some control over how their data is
processed
Data Protection in a Global Perspective
 Data protection - A global perspective

• Privacy Acts
– protection from surveillance
– government records
• Data protection laws
– data protection principles
– data held by commercial companies
– GDPR
 Data Protection Laws

Specific DP Laws
• 52% African Countries;
• 57% for Asia Pacific;
• 69% of Americas- UNCTAD, 2020
Others
• Constitutional Provisions:
• No legislation
• No data
Image Source: CIPIT, 2020
 Data Protection Laws - Objectives
• Protect and promote privacy
– making privacy a guiding principle in data processing
– defining personal data
• Regulate commercial use of data
– Data protection principles
– Data protection supervisors
• Center the person in data use
– consent
– data portability
 Data Protection - A Global Perspective

• Privacy Acts
– protection from surveillance
– government records
• Data protection laws
– data protection principles
– data held by commercial companies
– GDPR
 Data Protection Laws - Contents
• Data protection principles
• Data subject rights
• Data protection supervisors
• Sanctions/ penalties
• jurisdiction
– GDPR - multijurisdictional
– Kenya DPA - applies to local data processing + data of
Kenyan citizens
Future
 Data Protection - Future

• Data protection as practice

– data governance in strategic management
– professionals such as DPOs
• Data protection regulation
– data protection regulator
– data protection sector regulation in banking, law,
medicine etc
• Data protection policy making
• Data policy making
– AU data policy
 Future

• Need for more people with knowledge of data protection

• Inculcation of data protection into business processes
• New areas of practice e.g development of privacy enhancing
software, portals for data subject rights, data portability etc
• Policy development on emerging issues e.g health data