The Right to Privacy and Data Protection in Ghana

Abstract

The right to privacy forms part of fundamental human rights and freedoms under most national constitutions or legislation. The law of privacy protects individuals from intrusions and invasions upon their person, correspondences and communications, home and property. Privacy law ensures that the autonomy, name and dignity of human beings are protected. This chapter explores the nature of privacy and data protection law in Africa with particular reference to Ghana. In broad terms, it reviews and interprets the constitutional provision on privacy and analyses the social and cultural attitudes towards privacy in Ghana. It argues that privacy is an individual-socio-cultural construction. Privacy being a relational, social concept can only be understood within the social and cultural context. The rest of the chapter is devoted to reviewing and interpreting the legal principles of personal data protection in Ghana. The Data Protection Act which was enacted in 2012 provides a statutory basis for the realisation of the constitutional right to privacy in Ghana. The principles of personal data protection under this legislation are outlined and interpreted. The Data Protection Act is a very important piece of legislation towards the substantive protection of the constitutional right of privacy of correspondence and communication. The actual realisation of its objects depends on its implementation, which requires the collective and collaborative efforts of all: the Data Protection Commission and other state institutions, the private sector that uses personal data, data subjects and the general public.