managing electronic privacy in the telecom sub-sector: the ugandan perspective managing electronic...

MANAGING ELECTRONIC MANAGING ELECTRONIC PRIVACY IN THE PRIVACY IN THE

TELECOM SUB-SECTOR: TELECOM SUB-SECTOR: THE UGANDAN THE UGANDAN PERSPECTIVE PERSPECTIVE

Elizabeth Martha Bakibinga

Senior Legislative Counsel

Parliament of Uganda

30th November 2004

Elizabeth Martha Bakibinga 2

FOCUS OF PAPERFOCUS OF PAPER

This paper focuses on -Legal aspects-the extraction of Calling Line

Identification (CLI), traffic and location data.

30th November 2004


‘‘In African culture the In African culture the community always comes first. community always comes first.

The individual is born out of The individual is born out of and into the community, and into the community,

therefore will always be part therefore will always be part of the community.’of the community.’

The Notion of Ubuntu and Communalism in African Educational Discourse-Elza Venter, Faculty of Education, University of South Africa.Published in Studies in Philosophy and Education 23 (2-3): 149-160, March, 2004 - May, 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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UGANDA:COUNTRY UGANDA:COUNTRY PROFILEPROFILE Member of the East African Community

and part of the Great Lakes Region. Has a history of political turmoil, civil

strife, economic decline, bad governance and disregard of human rights.

Past 20 years show better governance and increasing respect for human rights.

Focus is more on abuse of right to life, property and freedom of association.

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IMPACT OF ICT IMPACT OF ICT REVOLUTION ON UGANDAREVOLUTION ON UGANDA

Dynamic increase in investment and utilisation of ICT.

Increased teledensity; improved facilities and services. increased geographical distribution of services.

National coverage is now 55 of the 56 districts in the country.

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Impact contd..Impact contd..

Transport and Communications sector has increased contribution to GDP from 5.9% in 2002/2003 to 6.3% in 2003/2004 due to new investments in telecommunications.

The burdens of the ICT revolution- excessive invasion of privacy an issue.

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Privacy in UgandaPrivacy in Uganda

Privacy in the African context greatly affected by the philosophical concepts of communalism and individualism.

African culture promotes communalism (‘It takes a village to raise a child.’, -

Ujamaa-collectiveness, Ubuntu - a philosophy that promotes the common good of society and includes humaneness as an essential element of human growth)

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Privacy in Uganda contd..Privacy in Uganda contd..

Great value has been placed upon communal fellowship which spills into private realm.

Philosophical concepts affect the evolution of societal norms that play a major role in appreciation and respect for human rights and freedoms

Individuals not keen on complaining about invasions.

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Privacy in Uganda contd..Privacy in Uganda contd..

Role Occupants-Law enforcement agencies e.g. Criminal

Investigation Directorate, Police Officers.-Security and Intelligence organs-Judicial officers:these sign the court orders

authorising release of traffic data-Telecom service providers have possession

of traffic data -Users:most are un-aware of their rights-

‘privacy myopia’.

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Legal ProvisionsLegal Provisions

Privacy regimes are under-developed in Africa resulting in communal considerations over-riding individual and absence of adequate legislation

Legal provisions do exist that affect and/or cater for the right to privacy, though some are not very express.

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Legal Provisions contd..Legal Provisions contd..

Constitution 1995 Art 27(2)- ‘No person shall be subjected to

interference with the privacy of that person's … communication….’

Art 50- Establishment of the Uganda Human Rights Commission

Art 79- Parliament to make laws, role of oversight over government.

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Communications Act: An offence for an operator of a communications service or system or employer of the same to disclose any information in relation to a communication unless done in accordance with a court order or with originator’s consent.

Uganda Human Rights Commission Act:UHRC monitors activities in more contentious areas especially activities of security agencies.

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Uganda Law Reform Commission Act Conducting research and making

proposals for the development of laws concerning legal issues in the electronic environment.

It is expected that research into the legal issues pertaining to electronic transactions will focus on e-privacy as well.

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Suppression of Terrorism Act-permits interception of communications.

Law of Torts-invasion of privacy Uganda inherited her common law

system from the British colonial government.

No provision for the tort of invasion of privacy

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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights- Article 12

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights- Article 17

African Charter of Human and Peoples Rights –silent on the right to privacy.

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WeaknessesWeaknesses

Lack of guidelines on how to go about privacy issues

Emphasis on other rightsLack of a general law on privacyIgnorance and lack of awareness

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RecommendationsRecommendations

Personal data should be protected and treated as a priority.

Enactment of a law and policy on privacy that can regulate the collection, use and disclosure of personal information, also in the telecommunications sub-sector

Law enforcement officers need laws and guidelines to keep them in line with the requirements of privacy laws so as to prevent abuse

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Recommendations contd..Recommendations contd..

Telecommunications companies should develop privacy policies

raise awareness for customers through consumer organisations

boost the activities of complaints desks in telecommunications companies-with better capacity to address growing needs

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More education and awareness raising of privacy as a right.

Capacity building for role occupants remains crucial in the area of legal issues pertaining to ICT including privacy concerns.

Legislation that encourages or permits superfluous invasion of privacy in both electronic and non-electronic form should be reviewed and amended.

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Uganda Communications Commission should enforce standards of networks and monitor systems so to ensure that all systems are secure from leaks, illegal surveillance.

Need to commission studies to obtain perceptions of privacy within the Ugandan society

Regional efforts at harmonisation of telecommunications and electronic privacy laws and policies are necessary.

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Parliament should make a special requirement for the Uganda Human Rights Commission to report on the state of privacy in Uganda to be able to develop benchmarks on the basis of which regulators can operate.

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ConclusionConclusion

Electronic privacy remains a challenge, as highly advanced privacy invasive technologies continue to emerge and evolve.

Only with collaborative efforts from all stakeholders can electronic privacy be achieved.

Given that it touches on deeply entrenched social constructs, the development of a privacy regime should not to result in conflict.

30th November 2004


THANK YOUTHANK YOU

Elizabeth Martha BakibingaSenior Legislative Counsel

Parliament of [email protected]

managing electronic privacy in the telecom sub-sector: the ugandan perspective managing electronic...

Documents

uganda privacy

elizabeth martha bakibinga3

electronic privacy

rights privacy myopia

african culture

east african community

african context

disregard of human rights