Dr Patrick Adonoo, Director of Regulatory and Compliance at the Data Protection Commission (DPC), has advised Ghanaians to protect their personal data.
According to him, such protection begins first with the individual. His comment follows a public notice of a breach in Facebook data protection. Due to this, 533 million users had their information leaked online. This affected one million users in Ghana.
Information leaked includes full names, birthdates, phone numbers and locations of users.
That notwithstanding, Dr. Patrick Adonoo explained that his outfit is not solely responsible for people’s data protection.
He further revealed that data protection begins by observing that the breach in the Facebook data system is not exclusive to Ghana.
Similarly, Dr Adonoo indicated that the Commission is seeking a better understanding of the current issue to proffer solutions. He however, emphasized “that a person’s data protection starts from the person.”
Additionally, he noted that Ghanaians “must be ready and aware of the damages” they risk being in if their data is breached.
Educating Ghanaians on data protection
Dr Adonooo also indicated that the Commission is involved in educating Ghanaians on data protection to understand the need to be cautious of information one provides on a platform.
“I have told Ghanaians that look, there are certain information that you put out there; and you know if it’s breached you are going to be in trouble.”
Dr Adonoo further advised that individuals must “frequently, I mean once every three months or six months, go in there, and change your password”.
Following this, Facebook has revealed that it has fixed the massive leak. That notwithstanding, Dr. Adonoo rebutted that “everybody’s phone number is there”.
“Yes, you cannot do anything about it, everybody’s email is there, yes you cannot do anything about it.
“But for some, there will be much more trouble because they put some other sensitive information about themselves there.”
He, therefore, cautioned the general public to make data protection a significant aspect of their lives, keeping in mind some of these unwanted occurrences.
“Look, when you get online, be careful what you put over there.
“It’s so important that in these times whether we live it or not, data protection must be a significant aspect of our lives”.
Prosecution of businesses who fail to register
The Data Protection Commission in March 2021, revealed that it will begin prosecuting executives of organisations classified as data controllers.
Under the Data Protection law, entities acting as data controllers must officially register with the commission. Similarly, they must sign on to a code that will guide the management to know the data they collect from the public.
But many have failed to do so, per the commission’s assessment.
Dr. Patrick Adonoo explained that “We must sanitize our data ecosystem.”
“In eight days if you have not registered as a data controller, the law will come after you”.
Dr Adonoo further advised the public to refrain from engaging in business activities with persons not registered with the Commission.
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