In Ghana, the recognition of the right to privacy under Article 18(2) of the 1992 Constitution led to the passing of the Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843) to further guarantee the right to privacy. It came into force in October 2012, and applies both to data controllers based in Ghana and those who process data originating in Ghana.
Under the Act, data subjects has the right to:
- Have their personal data corrected;
- Access their personal data;
- Prevent the processing of personal data that causes or is likely to cause unwarranted damage or distress to them;
- Prevent the processing of personal data for purposes of direct marketing;
- Not be subject to a decision by a data controller that would significantly affect them or have detrimental legal repercussions for them if the decision was solely based on automatic processing;
- Exempt manual data; and
- Be compensated for the data controller’s failure to comply with the provisions of Act 843, upon proof of damages.
Ms. Patricia Adusei-Poku is the commissioner.
Source: dataprotection.africa