Title: Data protection and law reform in Africa: a systematic or flawed process?

Authors: Alex B. Makulilo

Addresses: Faculty of Law, University of Bremen, Universitätsallee, GW1, R. A 2220, 28359 Bremen, Germany

Abstract: In the last decade or so Africa embarked on data protection legislation reforms. These reforms have so far generated a handful of legislation in some African countries while leaving draft bills on privacy pending in others. At the same time regional economic communities (RECs) in Africa as well as the African Union have been drawn in the data privacy reform processes. The main objective of data protection reforms at supra-national level is to ensure harmonisation of data protection policies so that international transfer of personal data is not impeded. This article critically assesses the data protection reforms in Africa and offers the overall implications of these processes to data protection practices in the continent.

Keywords: privacy; data protection; legislation; institutional law reform; Africa; harmonisation; international data transfer; personal data.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTPL.2016.077161

International Journal of Technology Policy and Law, 2016 Vol.2 No.2/3/4, pp.228 - 241

Published online: 22 Jun 2016 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article