The Data Protection Commission is scaling up enforcement of the Data Protection Act 2012, (Act 843) with an exercise which commences from August 14, 2023.

The Act sets out the rules and principles governing the collection, use, disclosure and care of personal data or information by a data controller or processor.

It recognises a person’s right to protect their personal data or information by mandating a data controller or processor to process such personal data or information in accordance with the individual’s rights.

 The Act also established the Data Protection Commission as an independent statutory body to ensure and enforce compliance.

The Commission, since the introduction of the Act has been creating awareness and building capacity to ensure institutions are educated on what is required of them.

Executive Director, Patricia Adusei-Poku says it’s now time to check if institutions are compliant.

Officers of the Enforcement Unit of the Commission will be visiting offices and the exercise may involve arrests of ultimate decision makers, heads of institutions who have neglected their legal responsibilities and/or have defaulted.

“We will also be naming and shaming and bringing negligent institutions to order”, Adusei-Poku said on The MarketPlace on JoyNews.

She urged institutions to do the needful, comply with the requirements of the Data Protection Act and commence implementation of their internal privacy programme.

“We are aligning data protection requirements with the digitization of the economy. This is critical to the success of our digitized economy. We have to jointly enable unlocking of the potential of data in Ghana’s economy, she added.

The Data Protection Commission advised organizations to inspect the ID cards of officers of the Enforcement Unit and cooperate fully with the national exercise.

Whistleblowers are also encouraged to reach out to the Commission using their hotlines 0256301323 or 0256301533 to give information on non-compliant institutions and any issues relevant to Data Protection and privacy.