Office of the Data Protection Commissioner imposes its first fine for non-compliance.

On July 14th, 2022, registration for businesses that handle personal data opened. Since then, there has been an increase in the number of organizations registering even though the Commissioner has not yet set the registration deadline.

But, many organizations fail to recognize that registering with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) does not guarantee compliance with the regulations.

On December 21st, 2022, the Office of Data Protection Commissioner gave the first penalty notice to Oppo Kenya according to the Data Protection Act, levying a fee of 5 million Kenyan shillings.

On November 3rd, 2022, the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) sent an enforcement notice to OPPO Kenya due to a complainant's privacy violation by putting up their picture on the firm's Instagram stories without their consent.

This comes after a grievance was put forward to the Aga khan by an individual whose data was accessed without permission; the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner asked the hospital to provide evidence of the steps they have taken to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future and to demonstrate that they abide by the Data Protection Act.

The Data Protection Act champions limiting data collection to only what is required to fulfil a specific purpose. Seeking your client's consent means that you respect their privacy and that you are complying with the Data Protect Act.

Organizations should know that the absence of "No" does not mean "Yes."

One of the ways you can seek consent is by having a form signed by your clients to show that they have given you the go-ahead to process their data. Moreover, you must ensure that you keep a good record of clients' consent and make it easier for them to withdraw it whenever they feel like it.

If you would like to put in place a data privacy policy to ensure transparency between you and your clients and build trust, contact us at +254739770031 or email [email protected].