A popular saying goes, ‘Not all heroes wear capes.’ So too, do some days of significant historical value slip under the radar. Many a Cameroonian would effortlessly spill dates and their significance without a second thought. February 11th – Youth day, May 20th – National Day, May 1st – Labour Day, and so on. Even the President’s February 13th birthday never goes unnoticed. 

In the digital realm, May 26, 2024, will, in time to come, merit its place. On this day, the National Assembly, in plenary sitting, adopted Bill No. 2062 relating to Personal Data Protection in Cameroon. Beyond just being a date, the bill is a piece of legislature to be celebrated as it ushers Cameroon into the conversation on personal data protection at a time web giants Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon (GAFAM) are being held to account by other countries overuse of citizens data.

For a country that prides itself on being the leader in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) zone, the Data Protection bill is definitely a bold step, one a big brother would take. But dates and showboating aside, what does this bill have to offer? 

From a digital rights perspective, the bill introduces several safeguards as recommended by Paradigm Initiative’s 2021 Londa report. These include Enhanced Privacy, Cybersecurity, Accountability, and Rights Recognition. It finally provides a chance for Cameroonians to hold institutions accountable for their data in tandem with laid down rules that align with the current realities of the data market. 

From preventing arbitrary data collection, to regulating data encryption and enforcing agency autonomy over personal information, it provides a guiding framework in alignment with international human rights standards.

The Achilles’ heel: Who bells the cat?

While Cameroon remains on the receiving end of technological products, it will be an error to assume the same about its participation in virtual governance and data management. With a 230-day-long internet cut record (between January 2017 and March 2018), the country’s authoritative stance highlights its active participation in controlling virtual spaces. However, this involvement is often inclined towards restricting access rather than fostering digital rights, revealing a hammer-nail approach to leveraging technology for governance.

Section 53 of the Data Protection Bill outlines statutes for the creation and management of a Data Protection Authority as a supervisory body. Like the proverbial goat sold with the chord still attached, the body can only function as well as it is permitted to by Presidential authority. The non-streamlining of definitions for phrases like ‘public interest’ and ‘national security’ also molds the legislation as a wand that can be wielded to obstruct activism or muzzle activities/institutions that fail to toe the line. 

Cameroon currently runs a video command centre in the capital, Yaounde, with facial recognition with over 2,000 cameras as of 2019. Followed by another in the largest city, Douala in 2023, officials said it was part of the Smart Cities project designed to improve the performance and strengthen the operational capacity of the Cameroonian police to monitor and counter organized crime, terrorism, intra-city road accidents and other forms of urban disorder which undermine the safety of citizens.

With in-house data locked in, the Data Protection Bill comes to solidify the reins of control. Positive as it is, one false step and the chances are high its use will be skewed especially against endangered groups such as journalists, whistleblowers, and activists. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Cameroon ranks as the third worst jailer of journalists in Sub-Saharan Africa, with its pressmen often subjected to repression and crackdowns. By failing to cater to their particularities, the bill only leaves more room for reprisals against them for their work. 

In 2022, a U.S. government study highlighted Cameroon’s powerful presidency and a governance system often marred by unchecked rights violations. With the same institution now responsible for establishing and empowering the Data Protection Authority, the pressing question looms larger with each passing day: Who will hold the system accountable?

Author: Giyo Ndzi, Communications Officer, Paradigm Initiative