Abstract
Personal data has always been at risk of loss, damage, theft, fraud, unauthorized access and unauthorized dissemination all of which threaten personal privacy. However, with increased technological innovation and the use of ICTs, data becomes even more vulnerable as it involves automatic processing of data. Furthermore, technology allows storage of high volume of data, increases possibilities of interception, data matching, sharing, mining, and profiling. With introduction of eTransactions, personal data can allow scrupulous individual to steal personal identities or use traffic data or cookies as personal footprints to track, mine personal data (such as credit card details) and use it fraudulently for personal gain. In 2008 Senegal enacted several laws in regulating and securing individual activities online and punishing cyber-criminals. This chapter looks at one of the laws enacted in 2008, the Data Protection Law. The chapter canvases the regulatory framework established by this law and, through textual analysis of the law, determines the contextual sufficient of this law in protection of personal data and privacy. The analysis is made focusing also at the social-political context of Senegal. This is because, for any law to be successfully implemented, the social-political environment must favor its application.
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Notes
- 1.
See Villalón, L.A., p. 33.
- 2.
Adjolohoun, H.S.
- 3.
Schoepffer, K.
- 4.
Diagne, K. A.
- 5.
Baldé 2010.
- 6.
Act No. 2008–12.
- 7.
Corbion, A.P.
- 8.
- 9.
In decision 2006–001 ART/DG/DRJ/DT/D.Rég of 5th December 2006.
- 10.
David 2007 cited in Donovan and Martin 2014, p. 21.
- 11.
Le Pays of September 2011, Le Pays of November 2011.
- 12.
Le Pays of November 2011.
- 13.
BizTech.
- 14.
Law 2011–01 of 24 February 2011.
- 15.
Section 2 of the Telecommunications Code.
- 16.
Diop 2014, pp. 214–216.
- 17.
In acknowledging the scope of video surveillance, the Data Protection Commissioner was necessitated to issue regulation on video surveillance on the 8th January 2016. Deliberation N°2015-00186/CDP du 8 Janvier 2016 de la Commission de Protection des Donnees Personnelles Portant sur les Conditions de Mise en Place d’un Systeme de Videosurveillance.
- 18.
Ecoutes telephoniques: Le nouveau materiel des Renseignements generaux boude a Sentel, available at www.orisis.sn/Ecoutes-telephoniques-Le nouveau.html accessed on 12/11/2015.
- 19.
Privacy International and Jonction 2013, p. 13.
- 20.
GISWatch 2015, p. 13.
- 21.
The meaning of consent is attributed to the meaning provided by the EU Directive on data protection which is a freely given specific and informed indication of data subject’s approval for his/her data to be processed for a certain purpose. Article 2(h) of the Directive.
- 22.
See report by The Privacy International, supra note 19.
- 23.
Ibid.
- 24.
La Commission de Protection des Données Personnelles, Avis trimestriel N°03-2015.
- 25.
Getz 2004.
- 26.
Kanté 2005, p.157 in Madior 2009, p.79.
- 27.
Section 1.
- 28.
Section 2.
- 29.
Section 18.
- 30.
Section 33.
- 31.
Section 62, 64, and 69.
- 32.
Section 38 and 70.
- 33.
For purpose of this law, sensitive data is defined under section 4 to include any personal data concerning opinions or religious activities, philosophical, political, union, sexual life or racial, to health, to social measures, prosecution, criminal or administrative sanctions; and Data on the personal health including any information relating to the physical and mental state of a data subject as well as any data concerning the hereditary characteristics of an individual or group of related individuals.
- 34.
Section 40.
- 35.
Section 20.
- 36.
Section 22.
- 37.
Section 53.
- 38.
Section 54.
- 39.
Section 55.
- 40.
Section 16.
- 41.
Section 5 and 16.
- 42.
Section 19, 26 and 32.
- 43.
Section 16 (8).
- 44.
Section 45.
- 45.
Section 46.
- 46.
Section 48.
- 47.
Section 21.
- 48.
Section 47.
- 49.
Section 49.
- 50.
Section 4 (12).
- 51.
Section 52.
- 52.
Section 50.
- 53.
Section 58, 62, 68 and 69.
- 54.
Section 61 – Law no. 2008–2012 on Protection of Personal Data.
- 55.
Section 60 – Law no. 2008–2012 on Protection of Personal Data. In this respect an inquiry by inquiry committee must be made to satisfy data subject of whether or not such data falls within this category before access is denied.
- 56.
Law no. 2008–2012 on Protection of Personal Data.
- 57.
Section 27.
- 58.
Section 29.
- 59.
Article 30 (1).
- 60.
Article 30 (2).
- 61.
Article 31.
- 62.
Article 32.
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Case Law
2006–001 ART/DG/DRJ/DT/D.Rég of 5th December 2006, at http://www.osiris.sn/Decision-no-2006-001-ART-DG-DRJ-DT.html
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Boshe, P. (2016). Protection of Personal Data in Senegal. In: Makulilo, A. (eds) African Data Privacy Laws. Law, Governance and Technology Series(), vol 33. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47317-8_12
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