Dr. Ian Brown, a data protection expert and a trainer with the African School on Internet Governance, gave a presentation at the Conference on Privacy and Data Protection in Africa organized by The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria in collaboration with the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms Coalition. The conference brought together academics, students, policymakers, and practitioners working in key areas related to privacy and data protection in Africa including big data, information technology, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and human rights law.

Dr Brown discussed key policy and implementation issues from recent data protection events in Europe and gave a projection of warnings from problems seen in the European Union as a guide for better policy-making and implementation of data protection in Africa. He emphasized the issue of children and data protection, using the example of the Children's Commissioner for England’s appointment and role, to look out for children’s needs and rights, especially in the digital age. Another highlighted area was the need for the appointment of specialist technology regulators by African countries to better enforce our data protection laws. He noted, however, that these appointments require significant budget allocations. Budgetary constraints have already been cited as one of the main hindrances to the work of data protection authorities on the African continent and the enforcement of data protection laws in turn. Dr Brown’s presentation concluded with praise for the African Union’s commitment to cybersecurity regulation to underpin data protection on the continent.

You can access all the recordings of the Conference on Privacy and Data Protection in Africa here

See Dr. Ian Brown's presentation on SlideShare or download the original here.