"Why we should worry about data protection"

In recent weeks, online and print media have ran stories on the ‘leaked’ account information of a well-known public figure. The word, ‘leaked’ more often than not always refers to some form of data breach. Whether it is a leaked document, sex tape, bank account & mobile money information or even medical records, in all those cases, the focus is always on the story (scoop) but never on the source of the information. 

It is now a widely accepted practice for food vendors to wrap their delicacies in documents that contain personal data. These vendors usually acquire these documents freely from entities that lack data retention and destruction policies. The advent of the internet has further exacerbated the scourge of data protection and privacy breaches. Users of social media platforms make available to the public their personal information with reckless abandon. Users also share leaked videos, documents and fake news that promote online defamation, without any thought of the legal implications of disseminating fake news or sharing another person’s personal data.

We have come to expect so little from privacy that any public display of concern is usually seen as a melodramatic rant. It is no wonder that most leading private entities and almost all government organisations lack privacy policies on their websites. It is this indifference to data protection & privacy that leads organisations such as Uganda Revenue Authority, to direct banks to furnish bank account information without any assurance on the mode of storage, retention and destruction of the data that it intends to collect...Without adequate data protection laws or national data security and retention policies, there can be no assurance that your personal data will not end up in the wrong hands...Uganda has taken steps to regulate data protection through the Data Protection and Privacy Bill. The law once in force will regulate the collection and retention of personal data; it will also provide for the obligations of data collectors and processors. [Refers to Cambridge Analytica]