MONROVIA – There is an increasing number of internet users in Liberia. According to Digital 2023 report, there were over 1.80 million internet users in Liberia as of January 2023, last year. The country’s internet penetration rate stood at 33.6 percent of the total population at the beginning of the year, 2023, reflecting a steady rise in online access.
Liberia’s Ministry of Post and Telecommunications launched a five-year National Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Policy in 2021. During the celebration of World Telecommunications and Information Society Day (WTISD), former Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Cooper W. Kruah, emphasised that the launch of the ICT Policy marks a significant a milestone achievement in setting the roadmap for Liberia’s ICT sector.
On 27 May 2021, Minister Kruah also mentioned that the policy is organized around three broad themes— Structure, Empower and Transform (SET)— aimed at developing Liberia into a knowledge-based and digital economy by 2024 and secure universal affordable internet access.
He revealed that the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) was honoured to work with the Ministry of Posts and Telecoms, the Liberia Telecommunications Authority, Digital and Liberia, through a collaborative and consultative process to shape this policy.
The policy document aims to foster economic development through comprehensive integration of Information Communication Technology, thereby ensuring complete social inclusion for Liberians.
However, Digital Liberia Policy Advisor, John Knuckles, told a team of journalists that the enforcement of these laws and policies a major challenge for the government.
“Liberia is struggling to enforce piracy and data protection law amidst limited financial supports,” Knuckles said.
As a result, Knuckles indicated that internet service providers cannot control every risk related to the use of the internet.
He then warned users of the potential risks involved in the functioning and use of the Internet.
On June 11, 2021, , head of owners of Liberia’s newspapers and online media, Mr. Othello Garblah, told a press conference that the attacks are on personal information, targeting journalists, politicians, rights advocates, and lawyers, among others. He was concerned about the privacy of personal data of journalists and media institutions in the wake of global cyber-attacks.
Liberia’s government continues to express commitment to ensuring that all domestic policies and practices conform to the agreed values, codes, and standards contained in these commitments as well as other relevant treaties, conventions, and instruments adopted through international platforms.
Liberian Finance Minister Samuel Tweah blames limited funding for the government’s inability to enforce privacy and data protection laws.
Nevertheless, Tweah told an intellectual forum in October 2023 that the government recognizes that fiscal space is limited.
Tweah admitted that the capacity to gather and organize impact and service delivery information in a systematic way to feed into a high-level decision-making process is also limited.
“Institutional knowledge and knowledge retention on the related policies and strategies are weak areas. Understanding concepts, unpacking them, and utilizing them to drive policy and strategies are specific areas that need strengthening at senior and mid-management levels and duty-bearers of these instruments,” Technology advocate, Mr. Dunor Bleh said at the Form.
Liberian journalists converged on, September 16, 2022, to endorse a proposed self-regulation manual on personal data privacy and protection Photo credit: The NewDawn
Assistant Postal Affairs Minister Melvin Yealue, in an interview with journalists on June 10, 2021, said, ‘No specific national data protection agency or authority exists in Liberia’.
Article 16 of the Liberian Constitution states that “no person shall be subjected to interference with his privacy of person, family, home or correspondence except by order of a court of competent jurisdiction. “But Minister Yealue said there is no dedicated privacy law whether of a person or in respect of data.
Admittedly, he noted that Liberia is a signatory to an ECOWAS act, which requires member states, including Liberia, to establish a National Data Authority within their jurisdiction.
According to Yealue, Liberia has not yet established an authority, National Data Authority. He further indicated that there is no known or publicly designated protection officers in the country.
“In the same vein, there is no law requiring the appointment or creation of such posts whether in public or private entities dealing with data.
There are no specific provisions under Liberian laws relating to on-line privacy,” Yealue said.
However, data collectors are required to exercise the maximum protection of consumers protection
and shall not disclose any information about a consumer to a third party except where (i) the institution is required by law to disclose such information, or (ii) the disclosure is made with the expressed consent of the consumer. Data collectors are required to ensure the integrity and adequacy of their IT and Security systems.
Abdullahi M. Abdulquadir is currently studying LLB at the University of Ilorin, Faculty of Law, Nigeria.
Abdullahi M. Abdulquadir, in his report titled “Regional trade and the challenges of data protection in West Africa,” highlighted the absence of a data protection law in Liberia. Abdulquadir said: “This is why Liberia is yet to have a data protection law. For example, African countries (though not in West Africa) like Ethiopia have had a draft Proclamation on Data Protection since 2009 and 2014, Swaziland since 2013.”
Abdulquadir identified another challenge of data protection as low level of awareness and consciousness of data protection in Liberia.
Abdulquadir who is currently pursing LLB at the University of Ilorin, under Faculty of Law in Nigeria, says many are not aware of their rights as data subjects and their responsibilities as data controllers.
While admitting challenges in enforcing privacy and data protection laws, Liberia’s Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Worlea Saywah Dunah, at an appreciation program in October 2023, said the government is working with the Liberia Telecommunication Authority (LTA) to enforce privacy and data protection laws.
“The government is drafting a policy to implement the ECOWAS Act on Personal Data Protection,” Minister Dunah disclosed.
Internet access challenges in Tubmanburg City
In Tubmanburg City, Bomi County, located 86 km from the capital of Monrovia, accessing the internet remains a significant challenge for many residents. The proprietor of Starz College, Morngar Wright, highlighted in an interview, that he and his students can only afford to access the internet on select days of a week due to financial constraints.
“We access the internet once a week to download, check information, and send emails because we cannot afford to keep it on all the time,” Wright stated.
Equally, Wright identified two primary barriers contributing to the disparity in internet access and usage between genders, which are the high cost of data and devices, and the lack of digital skills among the population.
Despite these challenges, Liberia has a promising opportunity to close its digital divide-starting with sound, forward looking government policies and a commitment by the public, private sector and civil society stakeholders within the country, to collaborate in developing the ICT sector, particularly in areas outside Monrovia.
In 2022, Liberian journalists converged in the south-eastern city of Buchannan, Grand Bassa to unanimously endorse a proposed self-regulation manual on personal data privacy and protection for use within the Liberian media.
According to the NewDawn Newspaper, the manual aims to strengthen media professionalism and ensure quality delivery of news and information while addressing challenges posed by online information campaigns.
The paper reported that the self-regulation manual was developed by a team of lawyers commissioned by the Publishers Association of Liberia and the Press Union of Liberia, in partnership with the Liberian Media Initiatives and with support from the European Union.
“The review was the first since the manual was developed. It followed a series of Editors Forums conducted by PAL in 2021, soliciting journalists’ views on the subject matter and the need for a self-regulatory manual,” the paper noted.
Addressing an intellectual forum in December 2023, former president of Press Union of Liberia (PUL), Charles Coffey, emphasized Liberia’s lack of data protection laws despite the potential benefits of data protection. “The enforcement of Privacy and Data Protection Laws in Liberia cannot be overemphasized,” Coffey said.
He highlighted that having a high standard of data protection would enhance Liberia’s competitiveness in international trade by bolstering confidence among foreign states and trade partners.
He further said: “It also guarantees that there are clear-cut data protection standards, ensuring that data flows within control and uphold rights,” Coffey said.
And at the same time, it will maintain confidence among states with data protection laws and those without,” he said.
Meanwhile, Coffey expressed optimism that adopting stringent data protection measures would enable Liberia to fully capitalize on ECOWAS trade opportunities and promoting inclusivity
This work was produced as a result of a grant provided by the Africa-China Reporting Project based at the Wits Centre for Journalism at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. The opinions held are of the author(s).
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