Politics
Nigeria Data Protection Law: What You Need to Know
President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, signed the Nigeria Data Protection Bill into law. The law, which was passed by the National Assembly in April, aims to protect the personal data of Nigerians.
The law defines personal data as any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person, such as their name, address, phone number, email address, and bank account number. It also defines data processing as any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data, such as collection, storage, use, and disclosure.
In addition, the law gives Nigerians the right to access their personal data, request that their data be corrected or deleted, and object to the processing of their data. It also prohibits the processing of personal data for the purposes of discrimination, marketing, or surveillance.
The law has established the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), which is responsible for enforcing the law. The NDPC has the power to investigate complaints, issue fines, and take other enforcement actions.
The Nigeria Data Protection Law is a significant step forward for data protection in Nigeria. It provides Nigerians with strong rights over their personal data and establishes a strong regulatory framework to protect those rights.
Here are some of the key provisions of the law:
- The law gives Nigerians the right to access their personal data. This means that Nigerians have the right to request that businesses and other organizations that hold their data provide them with a copy of that data.
- The law gives Nigerians the right to request that their data be corrected or deleted. This means that Nigerians have the right to ask businesses and other organizations to correct any inaccurate or incomplete data that they hold about them. They also have the right to ask that their data be deleted if it is no longer necessary for the purpose for which it was collected.
- The law prohibits the processing of personal data for the purposes of discrimination, marketing, or surveillance. This means that businesses and other organizations cannot use personal data to discriminate against people, to market to them without their consent, or to track their movements without their knowledge.
- The law establishes the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC). The NDPC is responsible for enforcing the law. The NDPC has the power to investigate complaints, issue fines, and take other enforcement actions.
The Nigeria Data Protection Law is a comprehensive and far-reaching law that will go a long way towards protecting the personal data of Nigerians. It is a welcome development and a sign that Nigeria is committed to protecting the privacy of its citizens.