President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has approved the revised Data Protection and Privacy Act (DPPA)
2015, and it will see any individual who intrudes into someone’s privacy be slapped with a prison sentence of 10 years or pay a fine of not less than Shs4.8 million.
And for most people, the new Law has been primarily thought of in relation to what it means for the practice of releasing other people’s nude pictures and sex videos, which has fast become the most common form of intrusion into and release of others’ private data on the internet in Uganda today.
“A person shall not unlawfully obtain, disclose or procure the disclosure to another person of personal data held or processed by the data collector, data controller or data processor,” reads part of section 35 (1) of DPPA.
According to Mr James Saaka, the executive director of the National Information Technology Authority (Nita-U), the law is going to provide the much-needed protection for personal information especially in this digital age
“It provides important safeguards that will protect Ugandan citizens as they use online services,” MrSaaka said in a statement.
The law also blocks individuals to access other person’s information that includes; their nationality, age, marital status, education level, occupation, national identification number and symbol.