Conducted in partnership with USAID under the Internews’ Greater Internet Freedom Project, the workshop sought to share key findings of our two vital research studies conducted in 2022 and 2023 with actors from government agencies.
The studies –Ranking Digital Rights and Digital Identity in Tanzania provide an overview of the state of digital rights data protection and privacy in Tanzania.
This advocacy engagement workshop held at Best West Dodoma Hotel attracted participants from key government agencies.
The highly engaging workshop commenced with a presentation from Peter Mmbando, the Executive Director, Digital Agenda for Tanzania Initiative (DA4TI).
Mmbando’s presentation, part of a multi-region research seeking to identify and compare the state of biometrics and digital identity threats, usage, and impact in Africa, the Balkans, Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and South and Southeast Asia, presented the study findings related to the ranking of digital rights in Tanzania together with their corresponding recommendations for promoting and safeguarding these rights.
The study, he revealed, focused on Tanzania’s leading mobile service providers – Vodacom and Airtel, and recommended that Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) comply with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and Tanzania’s 2022 Personal Data Protection Act to protect subscribers’ right to privacy and data protection, freedom of expression and governance.
Peter mentioned that most of the recommendations in the study, such as operationalization of the 2022 Personal Data Protection Act by establishment of the Personal Data Protection Commission (the Commission) had since been effected.
The second presenter, Mrisho Swetu, a Policy Analyst from the Digital Agenda for Tanzania Initiative (DA4TI), shared findings and recommendations of the Country Report: Biometric Identity, SIM Card Registration, and Telecoms in Tanzania on the effectiveness of Tanzania’s legal and policy enforcement framework.
Following the insightful presentations by the two facilitators – Mr. Peter Mmbando and Mrisho Swetu , the podium was opened for discussions regarding the studies.
The various stakeholders shared their insights, among them, the need for sufficient data privacy awareness, the need to adopt a sandbox approach to cope with emerging technologies such as AI, and the need to enact stringent legislations guiding data privacy and cross-border data sharing with countries that adhere to data privacy.
Event Photos
