Data Protection Authority Warns Kenyans Against Sharing Phone Numbers on Social Media

by Kenn Osoro on Wednesday, 19 June 2024 - 1:35 pm

A photo of Data Commissioner Immaculate Kassait during a function on November 23, 2022.

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Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC)

The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner has cautioned Kenyans against sharing personal information, such as phone numbers, on social media platforms.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the commission highlighted a recent trend where individuals are consolidating and sharing critical personal details of specific groups of citizens online.

Authorities emphasized that this practice violates data protection laws and policies.

"The commission has established the worrying trend of consolidating and sharing of information (names, telephone numbers, location, and details of family members) of a certain category of citizens," the statement read in part.

The Data Protection Act 2019 establishes that a civil registration entity is mandated to seek consent from a data subject for processing personal data at the time the personal data is collected.

Kenyan Data Commissioner Immaculate Kassit gives an address at a past event

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The Act also provides the data processing entity with an opportunity to notify the data subject or obtain consent from the owner before processing any data.

Similarly, Article 31 of the Constitution of Kenya guarantees every person the right to privacy, which encompasses the right to be free from unauthorized searches of their person, home, or property, as well as the seizure of their possessions.

The article further stipulates that information about family or private affairs should not be unduly required or disclosed.

The commission urged the public to refrain from sharing personal information unnecessarily.

"Given the foregoing, the office wishes to advise members of the public to refrain from further sharing of personal information which infringes on an individual's right to privacy."

This comes after Kenyans took to their social media to protest by enlisting and sharing of telephone numbers of various politicians in a viral campaign dubbed Reject Finance Bill.

Several MPs, like Sylvanus Osoro, lamented the incredible amount of messages and calls pouring in from Kenyans nationwide, airing their views on the state and progress of the Finance Bill.

Users of various social media platforms especially X (formerly Twitter) have been sharing a number of the legislators pushing them to reject the punitive taxes proposed on the bill. Some of these proposed taxes were VAT excise duty on bread and edible oil.