National mobile data policy to address privacy concerns – FG

The federal government says it will soon unveil a national policy on mobile phone data aimed at addressing concerns arising from private security breaches on individual mobile phones.

Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr. Inuwa Kashifu Abdullahi, stated this yesterday in Abuja at a stakeholder sensitization workshop tagged ‘Value of Mobile Phone Data to National Digital Economy’ organized by Flowminder Foundation in partnership with Data Scientist Network (DSN).

The DG, who was represented by Mr. Bernard Ewah, acting director of E-Government Development and Regulation, said the draft of the national policy is in the works and will soon be unveiled.

“The national policy, which will soon be presented to the Federal Executive Council by the minister of Communication and Digital Economy for approval, is basically targeted at addressing issues of data privacy protection, population movement and also aid government in planning.

“Every phone has a unique number attached to it by the phone manufacturers and also the mobile network providers. So the policy will aid government in aggregating data of mobile phone users wherever they are and store them safely as long as they connect to a mobile cell phone tower.

“This will help government to have an idea of the movement of people and also help the National Population Commission in planning” he said.

Earlier in her remarks, the Director, Strategic Partnerships at Flowminder Foundation, Cathy Riley, said the aim of the sensitization is to rally government and experts to find better ways of data privacy, especially of mobile phone users.

“Technology has come with so many benefits, as such we are partnering with NITDA and the Data Scientist Network to ensure that data protection is maximised which can help government in planning.

“We are hoping that deliberations will significantly contribute to data protection development in Nigeria,” she said.