Ugandan MPs pressed to vote laws that protect personal data, rights in digital govt

A recent consultation meeting that saw the participation of 20 Ugandan lawmakers emphasized the critical nature of personal data protection, and the safeguard of digital rights more broadly, as the country continues the implementation of its digital government agenda.

The meeting, which was also attended by 11 staff of the parliamentary administration and 16 representatives of from the civil society and the private sector, was organized by the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) – a digital rights advocacy organization.

According to information from CIPESA, the gathering was a platform for the stakeholders to share ideas on how the country can make human rights a key consideration while putting in place laws meant to guide different aspects of the country’s digital transformation drive.

During the discussions, some existing laws in the country came under the spotlight for some of their provisions that come off as a violation or suppression of digital rights. These laws, as listed by CIPESA, include the Regulation of Interception of Communication Act (RICA), the Penal Code Amendment Act 2007, the Computer Misuse Act 2011, the Anti-Terrorism Act 2002, and the Uganda Communications Act 2013. Uganda’s national ID card system has also been accused of being used as a surveillance tool by the state.

It came out strongly during the discussions that as people who make laws, Members of Parliament must play a frontline role in ensuring that only laws that protect and promote fundamental human rights, advance good governance, democracy, transparency and accountability, should be given the greenlight.

Civil society actors and other members of the private sector were also implored to keep a check on the legislative choices of the executive by playing their watchdog role of calling for digital rights reforms, when necessary, while relevant government agencies and services were urged to also play their role accordingly.

These and other efforts, participants agreed, would enable the Ugandan government enact digital rights laws that are in consonance with regional and international legal frameworks.

CIPESA says it has been involved in other activities in Uganda aimed at highlighting issues plaguing the country’s digital rights ecosystem. In a recent blog article, the advocacy group also underlined the role of data governance practices in Africa and how digital technologies such as biometrics influence them.

It outlines ways by which data governance can be enhanced and this includes putting in place the right governance framework, making the most of the available digital technology, ensuring ease of data authentication, verification and rectification, and well as data storage capability and confidentiality, among others.

Reflections from CIPESA on personal data and digital rights protection, and data governance, find their relevance in a mass biometric digital ID enrollment exercise which the country plans to launch in October as huge amounts of data will be collected from citizens

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometrics  |  data protection  |  digital government  |  digital identity  |  digital trust  |  legislation  |  Uganda