Malawi is in full pursuit of its digital transformation drive which includes the construction of a National Data Center with the collaboration of Chinese firm Huawei, the implementation of a biometric national ID scheme and a biometric SIM card identification exercise. As such, it is prudent for the country’s government to put in place mechanisms that provide sufficient and comprehensive data protection guarantees. This is the caution from the Association for Progressive Communications (APCA) in a report which is part of a series of recently updated articles on digital rights in Southern Africa. The APC is a network of dozens of civil society organizations from at least 70 countries advocating the responsible use of the internet and digital technologies. The report mentions that while these digital transformation programs unfold in Malawi, no intentional measures are seen to have been taken to put in place a comprehensive data protection legislation aimed at building citizens’ trust in digital projects that require the collection of huge amounts of personal data such as the country’s biometric national identity scheme which it implemented with stunning speed and a mandatory biometric SIM card registration exercise which has been on since 2018. The APC asserts that […]
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