Deconstructing Nigeria's data protection regime from consumer protection perspective

AutorFestus Okechukwu Ukwueze - Dike Justin Ibegbulem
CargoLL.M, PhD(C) in the Department of Commercial and Corporate Law, Faculty of Law, University of Nigeria - Ph.D, Senior Lecturer and currently Head, Department of Commercial and Corporate Law, Faculty of Law, University of Nigeria
Páginas94-118
94
Deconstructing Nigeria’s Data Protection Regime from Consumer (p. 94-118)
IBEGBULEM, D. J; UK WUEZE, F. O.
Deconstructing Nigeria ’s Data Prote ction Regime from Consumer
Protection Perspective
.
The L aw, State and Telecom munications Re view
, Brasilia, v. 13, no. 1, p. 94-
118, May 2021.
DECONSTRUCTING NIGERIA’S DATA
PROTECTION REGIME FROM CONSUMER
PROTECTION PERSPECTIVE
Submitted
: 30 May 2 020
Dike Justin Ibegbulem*
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3043-4080
Festus Okechukwu Ukwueze**
ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0293-5021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26512/lstr.v13i1.31850
Revised
: 08 July 20 20
Accepted:
13 July 202 0
Article submitted to peer blind rev iew
Licensed under a Creative Common s Attribution 4.0 International
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to ma ke a case for the recognition of privacy and
personal data protection as species o f consumer ri ghts in Niger ia in line with the revised
United Nation s Guidelines for Consum er Protection (UNGCP) b y amending existing law s
or enacting a n ew law to provide for per sonal data protection reg ime for consumers.
Methodology/Ap proach/Design
The study follows a structured review of relevant
extant legislation on consumer protection and per sonal data protec tion, namely the Federal
Competition and Consumer Protec tion Act 2018 (FCCPA) and the Nigeria Dat a Protection
Regulation 20 19 (NDPR).
Findings
The paper ide ntifies that the provisio ns of Nigeria’s foremost consumer
protection legislation, FCCPA, does co ver electronic commerce (e-co mmerce) or
consumer pr ivacy and personal data protection while the NDPR, subsid iary legislation on
personal data protectio n, which is yet t o be effe ctively implemen ted is to o general as to
provide the con sumers the much-needed priva cy protectio n in their de alings with
businesses.
Practical Implications
Given the importance Recognition of data privacy an d personal
data protection as a spec ies of consumer rights helps in understandi ng consumer protection
in online transacti ons and opens opportunities for fut ure research on consumer privac y and
data protectio n.
Originality/Value
Given the im portance attached to the protection of consume r privacy
and th e various ramifications of transactions involving exp osure of consumers’ pers onal
data, recognitio n of pr ivacy consume rs’ rights to privacy is vita l in co nsolidating
knowledge of consumer rights and iden tifying paths for future re search.
*
LL.M, PhD(C) in the Department of Commercial and Cor porate Law, Faculty of Law,
University of Nigeria. His research interests inc lude Mar itime L aw, Intern ational
Commercial Arbitration, Maritime Arbi tration, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Consumer
Protection, Cy ber-law, and ICT Law . Contact: dike.ibegbulem.pg03576@unn.edu.ng.
**
Ph.D, Senior Lecturer an d currently Head, Department of C ommercial a nd Corpora te
Law, Fa culty of La w, University of Nigeria. He is b arrister and s olicitor of th e Supreme
Court of Nigeria. He teaches Law of Consumer Protection, Co mpetition Law, Electronic
Commerce La w and Law of Tort. Contact: festus.ukwueze@unn.edu.ng.
Deconstructing Nigeria’s Data Protection Regime from Consumer Protection(p. 94-118) 95
IBEGBULEM, D. J; UKWUE ZE, F. O.
Deconstructing Nigeria ’s Data Prote ction Regime from Consumer
Protection Perspective
.
The L aw, State and Telecommu nications Rev iew
, Brasilia, v. 13, no. 1, p. 94-
118, May 2021.
Keywords
: Con sumer Priv acy. Persona l Data Pro tection. Co nsumer Pro tection. E-
Commerce Re gulation.
INTRODUCTION
The principal aim of consumer protectio n is to safeguard the interests of
the consumer in their relationships with businesses. Thus, the term consumer
protection is generally used to classify measures that ensure that consumers are
fairly treated and that their rights are protected in commercial transactions that
involve the supply of goods or ser vices.
1
To this end, the United Nations General
Assembly ad opted the Guidelines for Consumer Protection
2
which sets out the
general principles on which the basic rights and legitimate needs of the consumers
are centered .
3
These rights and needs include protection for consumers dealing
with organizations online and offline and the protection of consumer privacy in
the global free flow of information.
Ukwueze posits that the goal of the law in consumer protection is to
prevent har m and injury to the consumer, as well as to provide redress for the
consumer where he or she suffers harm or injury in his or her relationship with
the producer or supplier of goods and services.
4
In the information or computer
age, the ultimate goal in these regards is to b uild “a digital age consumers can
trust”.
5
Thus, right to personal data protection is indeed a class of consumer rights
that is not just cognizable but also enforceable under the law of consumer
protection in today’s d igital age where digital technology especially information
and communication technology (ICT) now provides the cheapest and fastest
means of conducting commercial transactions via the Internet.
6
Buying and selling
1
Felicia Monye , Law of Consumer Protect ion (Ibadan: Spectrum, 2013) 19.
2
United Nations Co nference on Trade and Development (UN CTAD, 2016) , “United
Nations Guid elines for Consumer Protection”, United Nati ons, Geneva, available a t:
https://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/ditccplpmisc2016d1_en.pdf.
3
Consumers International “Consumer Protection: Why It M atters to You - A P ractical
Guide to the United Nations Guidelines for Consum er Protection” (London: Consumers
International, 201 6), https://www.consumersinternational.org/media/2049/un-consumer-
protection-guidelines-english.pdf.
4
F. O. Ukwueze, “Towards a New Consumer Rights Paradigm : Elevating Consumer Rights
to Human Rights in South Africa” [2016] (32)(2)South Af rican Journal o n Human Rig hts
248−271; DO I: 10.1080/02587203.2016. 1215655.
5
Felicia Monye, “Protecting Consum ers of Products and Services in the Digital Age” News
Commentary to mark the World Consum er R ights Day 2017 (15 March 2017)
http://www.consumer awarenessng. org/events/prote cting-c onsumers-of-p roducts-and-
services-in-the- digital-age.h tml.
6
M. N uruddeen, Y. Yusof, and A . Abdulla; “Legal Framework for E -Commerce
Transactions and Consumer Protection: A Comparative Study” (2015),
https://www.researc hgate.net/publi cation/315730 418_Legal_Fr amework_for_ Ecommerce
_Transactions_an d_Consumer_P rotection_A_C omparative_S tudy.

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