Data law shows State respects our privacy

There was so much hullaballoo about the Data Protection Law that President Uhuru Kenyatta accented to a few days ago. Any tech expert can tell you that Silicon Valley giants have a lot of access to the data of African users.

Because of our continent’s notoriously lax protection laws, companies such as Facebook and its affiliates WhatsApp and Instagram, Google and Apple are able to collect more data than we can imagine. This is then used to influence our consumer habits and opinions through targeted advertising. 

Several years ago, the European Union recognised this privacy breach and passed into law the EU General Data Protection Regulation. This immediately limited the amount of access that technology companies - many from the United States - could gather on users in Europe.

There is no question that Mr Kenyatta took the right step by following suit. By signing into legislation the Data Protection Law, the president effectively set the precedent for the entire continent. The law is the first of its kind in Africa, and will hopefully inspire our neighbours to join us in the fight for (and preservation) of our freedom. 

While having too much data on us can seem daunting, knowing the population well - down to consumer spending habits, where we live, and how large our families are on average - is also extraordinarily useful in tailor-making development policy.

Census data

The recent aggregation of census data serves to inform the government of specific needs and also shortcomings around the country. But it does not violate our privacy in the way that major social media companies can, by reading our private messages and following our correspondence patterns.

The new law stipulates that any government entity or corporation which unlawfully handles and distributes user data will be investigated and could pay up to Sh2 million fine and serve two years in prison if found guilty. 

While hard power in the form of colonial invasion is no longer exercised against us and is unusual elsewhere in the world, 21st century forms of power are still pervasive in Africa. What that means is that giant technological companies - largely emerging from the United States - have until now been able to exert power over us since we have been signing away our rights by ticking the ubiquitous Terms and Conditions box.

All the more reason why we ought to stand up to this form of neocolonialism. Kenya is now no more open to data penetration than Europe. Not only was the move a statement of the government’s commitment to our freedom, it is a symbol of Kenya’s leadership in the international arena. In the recent past, Kenya has moved from a spectator, a passive player in geopolitics to an active participant. By no means, Kenya’s opinion matters in global forums.

E-commerce titan 

But international politics aside, passing the data privacy law was a commitment to the nation that the national government respects our freedom. The more we adopt mobile technology and as mobile banking becomes an integral part of our lives, the more necessary this fact becomes.

Data protection is also crucial for boosting investments in the tech sector. For example, Amazon Web Services, the cloud computing affiliate of American e-commerce titan Amazon, has confirmed it will begin investing in the country as part of a larger plan to expand services in Africa. 

This follows a move earlier this year in which Microsoft opened a research and development centre in Nairobi - the company’s first in Africa. These steps speak to growing trust in the country. The fact that we are able to attract large investments from both China and the US positions us as an independent player with influence in the current geopolitical power games. 

Chinese citizens face the same lack of data protection freedom that most Africans do. The Americans, on the other hand, cannot seem to figure out how to regulate the out-of-control social media network. 

Our government should be commended for being pragmatic about dealing with these weaknesses and using it to serve the country. Since we are frequently the object of regular investments from both China and the US, we have chosen to develop partnerships rather than take sides. Most important of all is that citizens here are protected and benefitting from rapid mobile technology improvements.