NAIROBI, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Kenya plans to put in place a privacy data law in order to enhance consumer protection, a government official said on Thursday.
Jerome Ochieng, the principal secretary in the ministry of information communication and technology (ICT), told a technology forum in Nairobi that the Data Protection Bill is currently undergoing stakeholder engagement before it is presented to parliament for debate.
"When the law is in place, it will safeguard the privacy and interests of consumers, especially in the digital space by ensuring personal data is not collected or transferred to third parties without their consent," Ochieng said during the Connected 2018 Partners Forum.
The proposed law will levy stiff penalties to those who infringe on data privacy laws.
Ochieng said the East African nation lacks a comprehensive data protection even as the country moves towards becoming a digital economy.
The principal secretary noted that there are currently industry specific data protection laws especially in the health and telecommunication sectors.
"The Data Protection Bill will provide an overarching legal framework to protect consumer data from exploitation," he added.
Some of the provisions of the law will be an obligation that companies to be required to get consumers consent before selling their data to third parties.
Ochieng revealed that the law comes at a time when there is increased collection of data from government and private bodies, especially in the digital sphere.
In order to promote consumer protection, the law will ensure that individuals be notified whenever their data is being collected.
He said the law will help to promote uptake of e-government services as it will provide comfort to those who are reluctant to disclose personal information online.
In order to enforce the data protection law, the bill proposes the establishment of an entity to handle complaints from those whose rights have been violated.
"The body will oversee and investigate observance of the right to privacy for consumers," said Ochieng.
