Churches should do more on privacy of their members' data

Churches need to rethink and reset their data-handling practices and overall strategies. [iStockphoto]

Data Privacy and Protection has been an ongoing global conversation and Kenya has actively engaged in this new frontier in East Africa together with Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania. Data privacy laws and new regulators are now in place in this part of the African continent which is a welcome development and also a demonstration of support to the worldwide effort to uphold the right to privacy of individuals with the aim of giving individuals control over their personal data.

In Kenya, the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) has been knee-deep in various activities including the registration of various entities as data controllers and processors, issuing audit notices in line with its statutory power to carry out audits which ensures compliance with the law, and even recently, issuing a penalty notice of Sh5 million to a known smartphone maker as a result of neglect and/or default to comply with an enforcement notice issued against it.