(Kenya) President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya has signed into law the Data Protection Bill of 2019. It provides for fines and criminal penalties under a framework similar to the GDPR. The Star reports as follows:

Signed on Friday, the law provides for the legal framework for the protection of a person’s privacy in instances where personal information is collected, stored, used or processed by another person.

The Bill follows the path taken by the European Union in enacting the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May 2018 and makes Kenya the second country in East Africa after Rwanda to have legislation dedicated to data protection.

The GDPR has been hailed as the first step in checking the excesses of powerful technology firms that collect vast amounts of personal data from their users for commercial or competitive advantage.

The new law outlines key principles that will govern data processing, sets out the rights of data subjects and assigns duties to data controllers and processors.

It also provides for the exemptions to processing of data and outlines data handling offences and attendant penalties.

The controversial law states that government agencies should not collect data on a person’s race and ethnic origin, religious beliefs, political persuasions or health status.

Note: 3 million Kenya shillings = approximately USD 30,000. Headline amended to correct error of max fine of 500,000 shilling. 

(Privacy press clipping sourced via The Star)
Jurisdiction: Kenya