Regulation

Kenya discusses data sharing with the EU

Kenya discusses data sharing with the EU

Kenya has reportedly begun talks on data sharing with the European Union (EU) – a process that could enhance Kenya’s income from digital trade.

This is because the talks, if successful, could see Kenyan data protection standards recognised and classified as being on a similar level to those of EU members.

As the Kenyan Business Daily news service explains, this could pave the way for the free flow of personal data between both jurisdictions without any additional regulatory restrictions.

In turn this could mean a boost in digital trade, access to Europe’s vast data economy and opportunities for Kenya to make use of important resources such as research data. The development would also unlock investment opportunities in business process outsourcing (BPO) and digital services exports.

Still, this isn’t a done deal yet. Over the next three months, EU representatives in Kenya will be working closely with local authorities to explore the possibility of building a safe data bridge between the two economies.

The key is reaching an ‘adequacy decision’; this means that a country outside the EU is recognised as providing a similar level of protection for personal data as the level of protection within the EU itself. As a result, personal data can flow freely between both jurisdictions without any additional regulatory restrictions or conditions.

The talks come soon after the signing of an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the EU and Kenya a deal that could result in tariff-free and quota-free access of local exports to the EU.

The Business Daily points out that this deal was the culmination of an eight-year negotiation process. Presumably a data-sharing deal is expected to happen a lot sooner.



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