Liberia: EU Ambassador Joins Stakeholders At Validation Forum On Draft Data Privacy Legislation

17 December 2024
The Liberian Investigator (Monrovia)
By Blamo N. Toe

Monrovia — European Union Ambassador to Liberia, Nona Deprez, will on Tuesday, December 17, 2024, join stakeholders at a high-level forum to review and validate a draft legislation on personal data privacy and protection. The proposed law, a standalone comprehensive instrument, is designed to provide structured guidance for the collection, processing, transmission, storage, protection, and use of personal information in Liberia.

The event will be held at Shark's in Sinkor, Monrovia, where Ambassador Deprez is expected to deliver remarks during the opening ceremony.

The draft legislation, titled Personal Data Protection and Privacy Act of 2024, was developed by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MoPT) with support from Internews under the Liberia Media Empowerment Project (LMEP), funded by the European Union.

Currently, Liberia does not have a standalone law on personal data protection. Once enacted, the legislation will supersede all other laws, decrees, executive orders, proclamations, and administrative regulations related to personal data.

The act will establish a legal framework for safeguarding and ensuring the privacy of personal information during its collection, processing, transmission, storage, and use. It aims to protect individuals' data without compromising the general interest of the state.

It will also impose penalties for unauthorized access, processing, and use of personal data, including the concealment of breaches and other malicious disclosures of personal information held by individuals and institutions responsible for managing such data.

Liberia's Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Sekou Kromah, will address the forum, which will bring together at least forty key stakeholders in the personal data protection value chain.

Last week, a similar forum was held in Ganta, Nimba County, where over forty stakeholders from ten of Liberia's fifteen counties gathered. Participants represented county council authorities, county health teams, civil society organizations, county education teams, and youth communities, among others.

At that gathering, participants validated the document, paving the way for the second phase of the legislative process.

Read the original article on Liberian Investigator.

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