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In an age defined by rapid technological advancements, the imperative to fortify data protection measures has become increasingly evident. For Algeria, a country on the cusp of significant digital transformation, the legal infrastructure governing data protection is a critical aspect of ensuring the responsible use and safeguarding of sensitive information. Hakim Berrah, from Clyde & Co LLP, delves deeper into the current legal landscape of data protection in Algeria, exploring the challenges it faces and the legal initiatives undertaken to address these issues.

The past month has witnessed a surge in the number of allegations regarding the infringement of intellectual property (IP) rights by artificial intelligence (AI) models. In this Insight article, Tasmiya Patel, Davin Olën, and Amaarah Kapdi, from Dentons, unpack the broad international legal framework that is applicable in such cases, the potential defenses available, and discuss the remedies accessible to parties claiming the infringement of their IP rights.

To navigate this landscape, the article first articulates the methods used by AI to develop neural networks. It then proceeds to address the applicable international IP rights regime, which is subsequently developed, and concludes with an examination of the likely relief that a court may grant in such cases.

There have been radical developments in various artificial intelligence (AI) models, with ChatGPT being the most prominent. ChatGPT serves as a language-based AI chatbot that uses a set of techniques referred to as deep learning that has continuous learning capabilities. As a result of these revolutionary AI developments, businesses have acknowledged the valuable insights that AI platforms can provide. It facilitates the generation of contracts, marketing content, CVs, articles, essays, and much more. It does so by gathering and processing data sourced from the internet, encompassing large sets of data derived from books, articles, and other online resources. PR de Wet and Jako Fourie, from VDT Attorneys Inc., examine the impact of POPIA on AI developments, with a specific focus on the processing of data by automated means through AI.

On June 12, 2023, the Nigeria Data Protection Bill was signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Tiwalola Osazuwa, Peretimi Pere, Nenjom Asuk, and Ifeoluwa Ebiseni, from Aelex Partners, look at the key provisions of the Act, including its scope and applicability and penalties for non-compliance.

In this Insight article, Magda Cocco, Partner, Inês Antas de Barros, Partner, Isabel Ornelas, Managing Associate, and Maria de Lurdes Gonçalves, Managing Associate, from Vieira de Almeida & Associados, delve into the significance of the Malabo Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection (the Malabo Convention), exploring its impact on Africa's data protection and cybersecurity landscape and the challenges and opportunities it presents for member states and businesses.

2022 marked a memorable year for Tanzania when the National Assembly passed the very first Personal Data Protection Act (the Act). Rachel Magege, Lawyer and Project Associate at Pollicy, discusses the contents of the Act and its potential impact on companies.

Since the inception of the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 (POPIA), the Information Regulator has achieved some significant milestones in terms of POPIA and the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2 of 2000 (PAIA). In this Insight Article, PR de Wet and Mishka Cassim, from VDT Attorneys Inc, analyze the milestones accomplished in 2022 and the expectations for 2023.

The Minister of Information and Communications Technologies published a new Draft for the Cyber and Data Protection Regulations, 2022 ('the Draft') in November 2022. Melody Musoni, an independent privacy professional, provides an overview of the Draft, with a specific look at licensing and registration of data controllers and how organisations can prepare.

Namibia's Ministry of Information and Communication Technology ('MICT') recently published Namibia's draft Data Protection Bill 2022 ('the Bill'). To ensure public participation, the MICT has conducted regional consultations with members of the public. Further, members of the public were invited to submit their inputs and comments to the Bill until 30 November 2022. The Bill is still in the early legislative steps and will have to go through parliamentary processes before it is passed into law.

Melody Musoni, an independent privacy professional, discusses the key provisions of the Bill, highlighting topics, such as data processing principles, data subject rights, and cross-border data transfers.

Personal data is one of the most sought-after commodities of the 21st century1, and as a result, consent has, in recent years, become increasingly prevalent as a codified legal mechanism intended to enable the informational self-determination2 of data subjects. Whilst consent is only one of various lawful bases upon which controllers3 can process personal data4, consent notices have become ubiquitous. The efficacy of consent as a privacy-preserving mechanism, however, is not so straightforward, as the manner in which it is defined, interpreted, and applied can have a significant impact upon numerous rights that data subjects are afforded under current data protection laws. Alon Lev Alkalay, assisted by Mahir Ahmed and Mudda Sulaiman, from Lighthouse Law, compare and analyse how consent is defined under the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) ('GDPR')5 and South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (Act 4 of 2013) ('POPIA'), as well as what constitutes valid, binding consent.

On 4 March 2022, King Mswati III signed the Data Protection Act No. 5 of 2022 ('the Act') into law. In this article, Melody Musoni, an independent privacy professional, breaks down the key provisions of the Act, touching on topics such as legitimate bases and data processing principles, data subject rights, and data transfers.

The National Information Technology Development Agency ('NITDA') released, on 4 October 2022, a draft Data Protection Bill, 2022 ('the Bill'). This Insight provides an overview of the Bill including key provisions and obligations applicable to the processing of personal data. The Bill introduces new data processing principles such as fairness, transparency, as well as accountability, and creates a new Nigeria Data Protection Commission ('the Commission'). In the last decade, there have been some attempts for a new Data Protection Bill such as the Data Protection Bill 2020, which went through a request of public comments and a validation workshop held in September 2020 but has since been abandoned.

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