AN APPRAISAL OF THE INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR DATA PROTECTION IN THE UK, USA, CANADA AND NIGERIA

Abstract

The protection of personal privacy on the internet is a contemporary issue and several nations have made legislation to secure same. With the need for regulation arises the need for better institutions to protect the same since it has become obvious that traditional law enforcement agencies like the police may not be best to handle such technology based matters. The paper observes that data protection agencies have become a common feature in democracies though agency powers vary from country to country. This paper looks at the institutional framework for data protection in Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Canada and by comparison appraises some institutions in Nigeria that have some data protection functionality either by the nature of their duties or the laws creating them. The paper by comparison concludes that Nigeria does not yet have a data protection agency compared to the European standard even as the legal framework is not fully developed and thus there is the need for a strong institutional approach to the issue.