By Tricia Dunlap (Esq. & CIPP/US)

On November 8, 2019, Kenya adopted a data privacy law aligned with the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). As a result, Kenyans now have more data privacy rights than many Americans. 

Kenya hopes to attract more investment from foreign tech firms. Recently, they increased data privacy protection legal standards and aligned them with the EU standard. Kenyan officials determined that the lack of protections around handling personal data has prevented the full development of Kenya’s tech sector. The lack of protections also hampered the government’s attempts to digitize citizens’ identity records. 

The new law creates an independent government office. That office regulates the collection, handling, storage, and sharing of personally identifiable (PI) data obtained by firms and government entities.  The new agency will also investigate violations of the law which complies with GDPR standards and includes a maximum fine of 3 million shillings ($29,283) or two years in jail.  

Concurrent to Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta’s signing of the new bill, Amazon Web Services, announced it will set up part of its cloud infrastructure in Kenya. Therefore validating Kenyan officials’ belief that the new law would encourage economic growth.  Teresa Carlson, Amazon Web Services Vice President, said the new law paves the way for the company’s investment in Nairobi.

We’re Here to Help Your Business Comply With U.S. and International Data Privacy Protection Laws

Dunlap Law can help you understand and adapt to the rapidly evolving data privacy protection law landscape, in the U.S. and worldwide.  We closely track data privacy legal developments so you don’t have to. Call for a consultation today or ask Tricia Dunlap to speak to your group.

Dunlap Law is a SWaM-certified law firm in Richmond, Virginia and the only B Corp certified law firm in Virginia or DC.  Tricia Dunlap holds the Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US) credential from the International Association of Privacy Professionals. She is also 2020-2021 co-chair of the IAPP’s KnowledgeNet, Richmond Chapter.