Data and Technology - Protecting Consumer Data Online in Kenya

Problem Abstraction

Consumer data protection is a growing concern since data is a premise for any business decision. The concept of consumer privacy is derived from personal privacy as an inherent basic human right. The domain of privacy partially overlaps with ‘security’, which can include the concepts of appropriate use, as well as protection of information. The implications for violating this human right for profit is a philosophical conundrum about the nature of Law, Rights, and other abstract concepts that were invented for the improvement of society.

Understanding the Problem

Since I’m not Kenyan, it’s hard to be in Kenyan society’s shoes and understand the real concerns that they have. And what is the importance they place on protecting their online privacy. But, I’ll try to deduce from their historical contexts, that the main issue is political, with certain groups of people benefiting from cooperation with western Internet corporations( their colonizers) whereas other groups feel like they are left behind. So, I don’t understand how advocacy may work independently of political forces, which are always an inefficient way of satisfying human needs. So, In my opinion, the best way to educate people on online privacy is the simple adage “ If you’re not paying for the product, then you’re the product.” Or the simple economic maxim that “ There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.” Of course, the most vulnerable groups are those who are already marginalized (less affluent), who can’t afford to buy luxury apple devices or custom devices such as Blackberry or others used by spy agencies.

Addressing the Problem

Although there is no clear one-size-fits-all solution. They are certainly some measures you can take to protect your security online. According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation,

Trying to protect all your data from everyone all the time is impractical and exhausting. Security is a process, and through thoughtful planning, you can put together a plan that’s right for you. Security isn’t just about the tools you use or the software you download. It begins with understanding the unique threats you face and how you can counter those threats.

So what an (online) security plan may look like?

Like, any thoughtful decision-making process, you start by asking the right questions. Here are some five questions worth answering to choose which action/measure to take:

1. What do I want to protect?

2. Who do I want to protect it from?

3. How bad are the consequences if I fail?

4. How likely is it that I will need to protect it?

5. How much trouble am I willing to go through to try to prevent potential consequences?

Every person can answer those questions differently depending on his/her/them circumstance(s). And there are other valuable resources online to guide a person through a privacy journey.

Conclusion

My logical conclusion is that no (positive) law which can meet the interests of all the stakeholders involved in a certain issue, except for the rule of law, which is the constitution. To honor the constitution is a constant struggle of interpretations among the entities with diverging interests. So, the rules of democracy are always bound to fail under any market forces.

Kenya, like any other African state, is fortunate to have predecessors. It’ll be appropriate to learn from the European Union, who after the damages of world war II, can attest to the world that war is not something to hope for. But, most importantly to take an idealist, with a grain of salt.

References

1. Wikipedia contributors. (2020, September 26). Privacy. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 13:17, September 27, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Privacy&oldid=980454821

2. Wikipedia contributors. (2020, September 25). Rule of law. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 13:19, September 27, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rule_of_law&oldid=980267949

3. Wenar, Leif, "Rights", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2020 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2020/entries/rights/>.

4. Marmor, Andrei, and Alexander Sarch, "The Nature of Law", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2019 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), U RL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2019/entries/lawphil-nature/>.

5. Wikipedia contributors. (2020, September 15). Five whys. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 13:30, September 27, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Five_whys&oldid=978486839

6. Wilson, Bill. "Five-by-Five Whys". http://www.bill-wilson.net/b73 Retrieved September 27, 2020.

7. Elizabeth Warren. “ Unsafe at Any Rate.” https://democracyjournal.org/magazine/5/unsafe-at-any-rate/. Retrieved September 27, 2020.

8. Phillips, Susan. “ Supporting the Rise of Consumer Data Privacy Regulations: The Current and Future State of Ecommerce Security”. BigCommerce. https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/consumer-data-privacy/#gazing-into-a-more-secure-future

9. Sara, Morrison. “ Sen. Ron Wyden helped create the Big Tech industry. Now he wants to hold it accountable.” Vox/Recode. https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/8/5/21339766/zuckerberg-privacy-law-facebook-congress-wyden

10. The Motherboard staff( November 12, 2018). “ The Motherboard Guide to not getting Hacked.” Motherboard Tech by VICE. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/d3devm/motherboard-guide-to-not-getting-hacked-online-safety-guide. Accessed September 27, 2020

Sources

1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/computer-science/user-privacy

2. https://www.nsogroup.com/

3. https://solid.mit.edu/

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_security

5. https://digitalinclusion.umd.edu/

Further Readings

• [Zuboff, Shoshana] - The Age of Surveillance Capitalism - The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power; PublicAffairs.

• [ Piketty, Thomas] - Capital and Ideology; Harvard University Press.

External Links

• Center for Humane Technology

• The Citizen Lab

• Connected, but alone?