For immediate release:
21.06.2020
STRANEK-AFRICA QUIZES NCA WITH 5 QUESTIONS
For some time now, telecommunications companies in Ghana have been dashing out the personal information, call details, text message and mobile money transaction details of their subscribers to government through Kelni GVG.
It has come to the attention of STRANEK-Africa that the National Communications Authority (NCA) has indicated that all Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) i.e. MTN, Glo, Vodafone and AirtelTigo complied with the request for information which was subsequently processed and forwarded to the Ghana Health Service for contact tracing purposes.
Thus, there was no objection by any party in respect of COVID-19 contact tracing data request until an application for injunction order was filed.
We wish to ask NCA 5 questions.
1. Why has NCA refused to file a defence in the Francis Kwarteng Arthur case when it was sued?
2. In what format did the telecommunications supply the personal data – harshed or unharshed?
3. In respect of which services did the telecommunications supply the personal information- does it include mobile money transactions or not?
4. In which period did the telecommunications supply the personal information- from before or after COVID-19?
5. What was the objection of MTN about and did NCA respond to that objection?
STRANEK-Africa has credible information that some telecommunications started sharing subscribers information with government before the outbreak of COVID-19 in Ghana. Therefore, NCA and government cannot hide behind contact tracing to violate the privacy rights of subscribers.
What is more disappointing is that, the NCA as a regulator is required to protect consumers. By its conduct, the NCA is rather aiding and abetting the violation of the rights of subscribers. No wonder telecommunications services remain poor in this country due to poor regulation.
For the sake of subscribers, we at STRANEK-Africa wish that these questions will be answered expeditiously to clear the notion about the private data of subscribers of mobile phone companies being dashed out.
We are all involved in building our motherland Ghana.
Signed.
Nii Tettey Tetteh
Executive Director
+233 559 042 914
Emmanuel Osei
Director of Policy and Political Affairs
+47 412 45 303