Shamaa Sheik and Lisa Emma-Iwuoha

Some African governments may draw criticism for enforcing laws that govern public use of the internet, particularly during protests or political turmoil. However, the same can’t be said about their approach to ensuring data owners’ privacy and protection. So far, more than 30 African countries have comprehensive data protection laws in place, with Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria, recently joining the list. Since the middle of 2022, there’s been a huge increase in data protection laws across Africa, say Lisa Emma- Iwuoha and Shamaa Sheik, attorneys at law firm Michalsons. Even though it may seem like Africa has fallen behind Europe, the data protection landscape across the region is maturing, says Emma-Iwuoha.

“African countries have had to focus on other issues and data protection might not have been seen as top of mind for a lot of countries,” she says. But the world today is vastly different from five years ago. “Everyone has, in some way, access to data and information through the internet, even across Africa, and because that’s becoming so commonplace, time is of the essence to make sure laws or regulations are in place,” she says.