By Meshack Masibo
For the past five episodes, we have been looking at the current issues touching on data protection such as data protection principles, the cost of compliance, cross-border data transfers and how to engage with data protection authorities.
In episode 6, we take a crystal ball and try to predict the future of data protection and data security in Kenya and the globe as a whole.
Tarun Samtani and Francis Monyango dissect what the future of data protection will look like. They argue, along with other experts, that one of the biggest shifts likely to occur in the future is a motion towards a world where individuals have greater ownership over their rights.
Tarun opines that data ownership will move to a model where individuals can use a fully encrypted, unique digital identity that can be ported from place to place.
Francis also argues that the future will see an over-emphasis on privacy and that this will affect BigTech platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp that depend on data-based advertisements to remain profitable.
This is particularly interesting because of the fact that these platforms largely offer their services for free which gives users from all walks of life access to markets, opportunities and a wealth of relationships at the press of a button.
Tarun and Francis argue that it is a case of waiting and seeing if the companies will be forced to change their business model and ask users to pay to use their platforms in the wake of increased privacy consciousness.
Both Francis and Tarun contend that the future will see an exponential increase in the number of regulations supporting the individual’s right to privacy.
Additionally, they argue that the future will see a greater demand for transparency by individuals targeting the organizations that handle their personal data. In conclusion, even in the future, we will still need to defend and protect our data from intruders, theft and cyber security threats.
Listen to all the other podcasts that we have produced under this project here.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Meshack Kukubo is a Legal Fellow at KICTANet
