Data Protection Laws and Business Privacy in Cameroon: The Politics and Rhetorics of Implementation

In the world at large and in every aspect of human activity, data protection and business privacy have long been a difficult and contentious issue. In the present context of globalization, advanced information technology, and e-commerce, the phenomenon of business data protection following the principle of confidentiality has been a very determinant factor for success or failure in the business world. In many countries, especially in the industrialized world, there are strong legal dispositions coupled with technical mechanisms to safeguard an enterprise information system; protect individual, collective, and institutional data. However, in Cameroon, in the absence of a specific text, legal provisions relating to business data protection and corporate privacy can be gleaned from the constitution and other disparate pieces of legislation. This article therefore aims at analyzing the extent to which business data protection and confidentiality are guaranteed in the Cameroonian positive law and the legal intricacies involved in this process. In other words, the study explores the challenges underpinning the effective implementation of laws pertaining to business data protection and privacy in Cameroon. This research is based on the premise that data protection in Cameroon, especially in business institutions, is facing a serious challenge in spite of the existing legal instruments relating to data confidentiality. The act of releasing sensitive information without permission and cybercrimes directed towards the data of these institutions has put business institutions in Cameroon in very embarrassing situations with their customers. During this research which entailed data from primary and secondary sources, it was discovered that, the primary raison d’etre for the inadequate or insufficient protection of business data in Cameroon, is due to the lack of suitable business data protection laws in the state. In this respect, it is imperative for the state of Cameroon to legislate laws that satisfactorily guarantee or safeguard the protection of private and institutional business transaction data.