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Privacy and Personal Data Protection in Africa: A Rights-Based Survey of Legislation in Eight Countries

Hlengiwe Dube, Avani Singh (eds.)

African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms Coalition (2021), 372 pp.

"Of the eight countries surveyed here, only four have comprehensive data protection privacy acts in place: Kenya, South Africa, Togo and Uganda. But as these research reports suggest, this is not necessarily a strong indicator of whether a country is committed to privacy rights, or of the efficacy o ... more

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Understanding the Theory of Collective Rights: Redefining the Privacy Paradox

Gabriella Razzano

Cape Town: Research ICT Africa (2020), 10 pp.

"Commonly held truths surrounding privacy and data protection may negatively impact the design of effective policy and regulatory solutions. Debunking the privacy paradox in the context of public intersections with data subjects helps to highlight how individualized privacy self-management strategie ... more

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The Impact of COVID-19 on Digital Rights in Africa

African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms Coalition (2020), 297 pp.

"This publication is a compilation of 19 articles by African researchers, academics, journalists and human and digital rights activists on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on digital rights in Africa. The articles were commissioned by the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms (AfDec ... ) Coalition as part of its project on “Securing human rights online in Africa through a strong and active ‘African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms’ network”. The AfDec Coalition is a pan-African initiative which promotes human rights standards and principles of openness in internet policy formulation and implementation on the continent, guided by the 13 principles established in the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms. At the time that the papers were commissioned, in June 2020, African states had either invoked existing policies or adopted new policies for prevention of spread, containment and treatment of the virus that had an impact on the enjoyment of digital rights. For example, most governments employed the use of contact tracing applications to track and trace citizens’ movements and put in place measures criminalising free speech when it contained false information about the pandemic. These two examples had the potential to be abused, particularly the latter, which was used to silence journalists and government critics. The pandemic also moved most citizens’ communication, education, work, trade and access to basic services from physical interactions to primilary online interactions. However, the continent is still largely made up of informal economies, has a low internet penetration rate of 28.2% (far below the global average of around 53%), and has seen an increase in reports of digital rights violations resulting from repressive cyberlaws, making the efforts to address the pandemic inadequate and inequitable. These articles offer reflective analyses on government efforts to curb the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of the AfDec principles, with a focus on a number of the principles including privacy and personal data protection, gender equality, freedom of expression, internet access and affordability, and the right to development and access to knowledge." (Introduction) more

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Empowering Our Whistleblowers

Gabriella Razzano

Open Democracy Advice Centre; Right2Know Campaign; Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) (2014), iv, 63 pp.

"In 2010 the Open Democracy Advice Centre undertook a comprehensive review of the state of whistleblowing in South Africa, entitled 'The Status of Whistleblowing' (2010). Three years on, the whistleblowing landscape is due another review. Research demonstrates that progress has not merely halted in ... more