Commission issues registration guidelines to data controllers, others
By Ijeoma Olorunfemi
The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has issued registration guidelines to data controllers and processors of major importance to ensure the growth of the data privacy ecosystem.
Mr Babatunde Bamigboye, Head of Legal, Enforcement and Regulations of the commission, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja on Thursday.
Bamigboye stated that the guidelines notice became necessary so as to clarify on the categories of organisations required to register with the commission as encapsulated in the Nigeria Data Protection ACT (NDPA) 2023.
Referring to Section 5(d), 44 and 65 of the NDPA, Bamigboye noted that organisations of particular value to the economy or security of Nigeria were designated as data controllers and processors of major importance.
“A data controller or data processor shall be deemed to have particular value or significance to the economy, society or security of Nigeria.
“This has made such to be designated as major importance if it keeps or has access to a filing system for the processing of personal data.
“The commission also identifies specific data processing such as those involving sensitive personal data, cloud computing, trans-border data transfers, processing personal data of over 200 data subjects.
“We also classify access to data storage platform of third parties in commercial transactions as necessary factors in considering organisations that are data controllers or processors of major importance,” he said.
According to him, to ease of doing business, particularly for small organisations involved in potentially high-risk data processing, the commission varies the payable fees according to level of Major Data Processing (MDP) involved.
He added that MDP was classified into three levels, which included, Ultra High Level (UHL), Extra High Level (EHL) and Ordinary High Level (OHL) of Major Data Processing.
Bamigboye said that their fees payable were N250,000, N100,000 and N10,000 respectively.
“Organisations in the MDP-UHL categories include but are not limited to commercial banks operating at national or regional level, merchant banks, telecommunication companies.
“Other MDP-UHL Insurance companies, multinational companies and payment gateway service providers.
“Organisations within MDP-EHL category are Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government, Micro finance banks, higher institutions, hospitals providing tertiary or secondary medical services and Mortgage banks.
“At the MDP-EHL category we have organisations such as Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, primary and secondary schools, Primary Health Centres, others who engage with data-subjects on behalf of other organisations.”
He added that the breakdown of the categories was contained in the Guidance Notice posted on the commission’s website www.ndpc.gov.ng.
Dr Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner of NDPC, also urged data controllers to avoid activities that may put citizens at risk in the course of sharing their personal data.
Olatunji said “the risks are getting higher even as the opportunities are also increasing.
“We are reminded of the warning by those in the frontiers of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, that we have a price to pay for liberty, which is eternal vigilance.
“It is therefore important to properly and functionally identify the persons and the data processing to which we must direct the torch of vigilance.
“Registration is one in a continuum of measures we are taking in this regard and it is the entry point of accountability going forward.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalled that the commission announced a six-month registration window for data controllers and processors.
They were expected to register with the commission between January 30 and June 30, 2024. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
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Edited by Deji Abdulwahab
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