ABSTRACT
The rise and development of the internet globally has had a profound impact on the protection of the right to privacy. As a fundamental human right, the right to privacy gives the individual control over the processing of personal information. Consent is one of the important mechanisms that help the individual to exercise such control. This chapter discusses the regulation of the right to privacy in Africa in the context of the rise of the internet. It shows that African states, collectively and individually, have increasingly taken measures to protect the right to privacy especially with regard to data use, access and protection. These measures can be found in regional and sub-regional treaties and domestic constitutions and legislation. The treaty that directly addresses privacy and data protection is the Malabo Convention. Although there are gaps in this treaty and some African states have begun to enact data security and protection laws, more states need to ratify and domesticate it.
