Opinion
LIKE many nations, Nigeria is no different when it comes to protecting the fundamental rights and interests of data subjects, which have been approved under the 1999 constitution of Nigeria. The focus of this important subject has led to the approval of the Nigeria Data Protection Bill, by The Federal Executive Council (FEC) in February 2023. A year earlier, the President Muhammadu Buhari gave the greenlight on the establishment of Nigeria Data Protection Bureau which was a positive direction towards establishment of the Bill.
The intention of this bureau was to conduct a study that will lead to the implementation of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) and the passing of the act for data protection. By October 4, 2022, The Nigerian Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) released a first draft of the bill, which added an insight and an overview into the key points this bill will address – fairness, transparency, confidentiality, and accountability.
Recently, the executive through the Ministry of Communications submitted the documents to the National Assembly for the parliamentary process. But the journey started a lot earlier. As Margaret Olele the CEO of the American Business Council noted, the initial Bill of 2019 sought to establish Data Protection Commission charged with the responsibility of personal data and data subject rights, regulating of the processing of personal information and other matters. The Bill did not address investors’ confidence, issues of localization, cross border data transfers and many others.
On the 3rd of March 2020, the American Business Council held a Data Protection workshop to set the foundation the best fit data protection bill by bringing both public and Private sector together to deliberate on the regulations and guidelines that are best fit for Nigeria. The Council has since been a critical partner sharing inputs and recommendations to the federal government. Last year, the council held a Workshop with the legislature as they remain the final decision makers to the drafting and passing of the Bill.been of critical concern to the Federal Government w data transfer and many3rd of March,2020, the American Business Council in partnership with Microsoft Nige
The Bill approved by the Federal Executive has gone past the first reading and is at the second reading at the legislative arm of government. The American Business Council and other private sector stakeholders have actively engaged the different stakeholders, the Ministry of Communication and digital economy, the Committee of ICT and Cybercrime at both houses, the National Data Protection Bureau through capacity building and inputs into this Bill. “We expect that the Bill should go through the second reading seamlessly and eventual approval following the immense work done by the Ministry and Bureau galvanizing multifaceted inputs through stakeholders’ engagement” the ICT Chair person of American Business Council said.
With the hard work of the Nigerian government coming together to craft a bill for data protection, one may wonder the importance of the bill to the Nigerian people. This purpose will be explained in depth as the conversations around the bill become louder and louder in the National Assembly.
A major importance for the implementation of the Data Protection Bill in Nigeria is the issue of privacy. As Dr. Chukwuemeka Ujam, ICT expert and former elected member of the House of Representatives representing Nkanu East/West Federal Constituency of Enugu State, noted in a recent interview, Nigeria is trying to establish its own version of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The GDPR was first formulated by the European Union in 2018 to clamp down on social media and cloud services collecting sensitive and private information from its users. The GDPR will impose fines on companies that defy the privacy and security standards. The regulations came into play following several events of data breaches on these platforms. In essence, Nigeria is playing catch up by following suit with the E.U and other nations through laying down the law for big tech companies to handle and keep the information of personal users safe. The bill will keep Nigerians protected and make them less susceptible to identify theft and other online schemes like fraud and even personal security of their livelihoods.
The data protection bill in Nigeria will also help to offer protection for minors. Section 33 of the bill will seek guidelines in acquiring children’s permission legally. In addition, the bill will require data controllers to obtain the consent of a child’s parent or guardian, as well as appropriate method that will present government issued identification documents to verify the age and consent of the child. The internet exposes children to a lot of sensitive information, which could either enrich or hamper their developmental process. In other words, it is up to the parents or guardians to give consent and access to the materials children can view on the world wide web,
Another importance of Data Protection Bill in Nigeria is to regulate when and where certain devices can be used. As technology is on a constant evolution, there has been new artificial intelligence software’s like ChatGPT, which have helped to assist students in schools to write essays with aid of these applications. This sparks a new conversation and spotlights the unethical use of technology at schools. The implementation of this bill will not only ensure safe learning for students with technology but would also ensure that students are taking the right approach to achieve their grades based on merit.
The Data Protection Bill that has been sent to the National Assembly is at its second reading, but many are hopeful that the bill will get passed to ensure safer and ethical ways of accessing information through various online platforms.
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Tags: Data Protection Bill
