The African Union’s Continental AI Strategy: Data Protection and Governance Laws Set to Play a Key Role in AI Regulation
By Chuma Akana, Former FPF Global Privacy Summer Fellow and Mercy King’ori, FPF Policy Analyst, Global Privacy The African Union (AU) Executive Council, composed of representatives of the 55 African Member States, approved the highly anticipated AU AI Continental Strategy (the Strategy) in July 2024. The adoption of the Strategy follows a period of stakeholder […]
Nigeria’s New Data Protection Act, Explained
On June 12, 2023, the President of Nigeria signed the Data Protection Bill into law following a successful third reading at the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Data Protection Act, 2023 (the Act) has had executive and legislative support and marks an important milestone in Nigeria’s nearly two-decade journey towards a comprehensive data […]
Tanzania’s Personal Information Protection Act: Overview, Key Takeaways, and Context
On November 27 2022, the President of Tanzania signed the Personal Information Protection Act, 2022 (PIPA) after it garnered unanimous Parliamentary support following its September 2022 introduction during the 8th Parliamentary sitting. The Act’s passage makes the United Republic of Tanzania (henceforth referred to as “Tanzania”) the 35th country in Africa to enact a standalone data […]
The African Union’s Data Policy Framework: Context, Key Takeaways, and Implications for Data Protection on the Continent
Authors: Mercy King’ori, Ulric Quee, Hunter Dorwart On July 28, 2022, the African Union (AU) released its Data Policy Framework (Framework) following extensive multi-stakeholder engagements. The Framework aims to provide a multi-year blueprint for how the AU will accomplish its goals for Africa’s digital economy. It also sets forth the AU’s vision, scope, and priorities […]
Looking Back to Forge Ahead: Challenges of Developing an “African Conception” of Privacy
In this post for the FPF Blog, Mercy King’ori explores the cultural and societal underpinnings of “privacy” in Africa, looking throughout history, from pre-colonial times, and beyond the modern external influences on the legislative processes resulting in general data protection laws across the continent. The first essential point to start off from is understanding that […]