Privacy can never be erased in the world’s dictionary because of the significant roles it plays in our homes, offices, and daily activities. The current era of digitization has made handling personal data critical. This demands heightened awareness, accountability, and security protocols to ensure the confidentiality, trust, integrity, and availability of personal data in the digital age.
On September 15th, 2025, the Ghana Data Protection Commission launched its Privacy awareness campaign themed “Privacy is Personal,” which aims to preach the gospel of Privacy to organizations and individuals, drive enforcement, and ensure that individuals understand their legal rights as Data subjects and Data Controllers under the Data Protection Act 2012.
The legal mandate of the Data Protection Commission, established under the Data Protection Act 2012, is to regulate the processing of personal information and protect individual’s privacy by enforcing compliance. The launch was graced by the Deputy Minister for Communications, Digital Technology, and Innovation, Honorable Mohammed Adams Sukparu, the Acting Executive Director of the Data Protection Commission, Dr. Arnold Kavaarpuo, the Board Chair of the Commission, Ms. Teki Akuetteh, and the President of the Ghana Association for Privacy Professionals, Mr. Emmanuel Gadasu.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of the Commission, Dr. Arnold Kavaarpuo, addressed key issues concerning data privacy and how awareness is needed to educate the public on their rights and institutions on their responsibilities in safeguarding personal data to foster trust among their clients. Non-compliance and Data Brokers weren’t left out in this address because of the commission’s mandate. He stated that there are legal fines and sanctions under the Act which non-compliance Data Controllers face (Section 95). Every business thrives with public trust; therefore, for a controller to build public trust, they have to comply with the Data Protection Act.
The Deputy Minister for Communications, Digital Technology, and Innovation spoke about the nation’s vision of building a foundation to lead in African data privacy in this digital era of Artificial Intelligence to drive economic growth. About 552 individuals were trained by the Data Protection Commission to become Certified Data Protection Officers under the One Million Coders training initiative under the auspices of the Ministry of Communications, Digital Technology, and Innovation. Out of the training, 354 candidates passed on their first attempt, while some of the remaining candidates passed after resitting. This shows how individuals have an interest in data privacy and how they want to shape Ghana’s privacy in the digitalized world.
The President of the Ghana Association for Privacy Professionals, in his address, shared the association’s aim to collaborate with the commission in creating awareness on data privacy and how data subjects and data controllers will know their rights and obligations under Act 843. The Data Protection awareness campaign message will be preached in all local languages for easy understanding and practicing. Public education will be held in all 16 regions in Ghana to inform people about the commission and what to do if their personal data is breached.
