Despite the widespread impact of the EU General Data Protection Regulation on privacy and data protection, African nations are left with a patchwork of ineffective and unenforceable data safety laws, Quartz reports. Only 23 of the 55 countries have passed or drafted personal privacy laws, with only nine data protection authorities spread throughout the continent. Recent revelations showing that Cambridge Analytica harvested data from Facebook users and allegedly fixed elections in Nigeria and Kenya have helped the importance of digital privacy rise across the continent. Ephraim Kenyanito, a program officer with digital rights advocacy Article 19, said, “Africa is really vulnerable to data breaches, and the lack of robust laws could have devastating implications.” He added that educating consumers on existing laws and privacy rights is the first step in addressing the challenges of data privacy.
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