The Federal Government of Nigeria has said that data privacy, protection awareness for digital technologies users, very key to tackling pervasive internet fraud, cyber insecurity.
This is just as the Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC) and other stakeholders said digital rights, data protection and digital parenting is pertinent in modern-day society.
This was disclosed during an awareness programme titled, ‘assessing Digital Rights, Data Protection and Privacy in Nigeria, organized by PPDC in collaboration with Africa Freedom of Information Centre(AFIC) in Abuja on Wednesday.
The National Commissioner/Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB), Dr Vincent Olatunji in his goodwill message, stated that NDPB was established by the federal government to address the challenges of data breaches, insecurity in cyberspace through adequate awareness of digital rights, data protection across the country.
His words: “Now when we go online there is a need to ensure that whatever information you put online is been protected. Your privacy, rights and freedom should be protected online. When you tell people to embrace digital technologies you must put in place regulations to protect them. This is why in 2019 the National Data Protection Regulation(NDPR) was established.
Furthermore, Dr Olatunji noted that NDPB would strive to create awareness on data privacy, freedom and implementation of sanctions on defaulters.
“The trend globally, it is important that any country operating in the digital space to have a full-fledged agency to regulate the space and implement data privacy, protection. Since we have started with the regulation, we hope to have the law that will make it an act of parliament to adequately protect Nigerians.
“That is why President, Muhammadu Buhari, based on the advice of Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, created the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau(NDPB) was created. To ensure that the draft law is pushed for passage in the National Assembly before the end of 2022; to ensure that we regulate what people do online in terms of how do we protect their data privacy, how do we guaranteed users freedom online and companies are expected to file data privacy compliance reports”, he said.
Commenting on the issue of loan sharks and individual data breaches, Olatunji stressed that the federal government was collaborating with stakeholders to put a final stop to the matter through a thorough regulation, law.
“We have actually started meeting, but we must understand that these loan sharks target the vulnerable groups in the society”
“So these are the things we are looking at and with the fact that we need a very firm regulatory instrument to be able to deal with it and that is why we have federal consumer protection commission, we have Central Bank of Nigeria CBN(CBN), that is in the area of financial regulation in the area of technology we have National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and in the area of the privacy itself we have the NDPB, we have the Nigeria Police Force. So what we are looking at is what type of regulation can we really put in place to address this adequately. On our part we want to thoroughly investigate it and know the best way to address it”, he stated.
The CEO of PPDC, Nkem Ilo, in his address, called on the federal government to work with stakeholders on the creation of awareness on digital rights, data privacy and digital parenting.
She was of the opinion that technologies users should be conscious of personal data disclosure while online in order to avoid data breaches.
“Now is the time to focus on educating citizens. We have the National Orientation Agency whose purpose is to educate, orient. We need those kinds of agencies to begin to us about what we should be aware of when signing documents. What will even constitute a violation of my right to protection, of my right to privacy? What will constitute that and when that has been violated where do I go to?”, she noted.
Nkem, however, said that the federal government should be more proactive in educating children about data privacy, digital rights by infusing it into the schools’ curriculum.
“We need more of the government taking onboard that school curriculum to begin to teach our children just the way our children know offhand that they are going to study maths, that they know they have to pass their English, they also need to be aware of what their online safety is and that is one thing we have also taken on board”, she added.
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