Smartphones in Uganda are crucial items for not only communication, entertainment, access to information or trade. However, their omnipresence brings very fundamental concerns about censorship, privacy, surveillance, and harmony between access and safety. 

Covert Surveillance: How Your Smartphone Profits from Your Data

Smartphones are not only devices; they are conduits to a very broad economy that largely feeds off collecting data. Just like in many other places in the world, in Uganda, entities collect personal information and other forms of information through digital channels like, GPS, voice assistants, and other features. It is from here that this data is deconstructed and commercialised, and in many cases, this is done without the often without consumer’s authorisation. 

Big tech companies have, in recent times, been reported for having used spyware in monitoring opposition members in Uganda by giving access to digital tools like WhatsApp. Even though the companies denied these allegations, such incidents underscore the potential for the misuse of data collected through smartphones and the risks and harm this poses to consumers. 

Digital Trust: Balancing Convenience with Privacy

Most temptations that come with smart devices like phones lie in their ability to offer convenience like instant communication, and access to information and services. However, this convenience often exposes consumers in a way that their privacy and safety are always at stake; and practices like the compulsory registration of SIM cards and mobile internet subscriptions have raised concerns about the disintegration of communication that is anonymised. Laws like the Registration of Persons Act, 2015, require citizens to provide national IDs for any registration purpose, including SIM card registration, thereby compromising privacy, even though it is a requirement embedded within the law. 

Other laws like the Data Protection and Privacy Act of 2019, which look at safeguarding personal information, still face challenges in having proper and meaningful implementation. The act provides for the protection of privacy and the security of personal data by regulating the collection and processing of personal information. While this might be the case, grave concerns about surveillance and censorship remain.

Government Access and Legal Loopholes: Who’s really Watching?

Uganda's legal framework permits boundless surveillance of the communications of citizens. The Regulation of Interception of Communication (RIC) Act of 2010 permits the state to intercept personal communications for the benefit of national security preservation. Tech and telecommunications companies are required to install equipment enabling real-time electronic surveillance of suspected terrorists, and failure to comply can result in severe penalties.

Additionally, clauses in the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2002 give security officers the leeway to intercept communications of individuals suspected of terrorism without judicial oversight. These legal provisions have raised alarms about the potential for abuse and the infringement of citizens' privacy rights.

Smart Devices and Self-Surveillance: Are We Spying on Ourselves?

It is undeniable that surveillance from the government is a big problem that worries many of the actors, like activists and litigants, who work towards citizens having online spaces that are human-centric, and value-based. Citizens in their individual capacities also play a big part in their own surveillance. The extensive use of smartphones has led to self-surveillance, where users, out of their own volition, share personal information through social media, location services, and other applications.

The integration of smart devices like phones with other technologies, such as wearables and health applications, has expanded the scope of self-surveillance. While these technologies offer benefits, they also raise questions about the extent to which individuals are aware of and control the data they generate.

You Choose. Companion or Traitor? 

Smartphones and devices are a double-edged sword, as they serve as both companions and potential threats to personal privacy and safety. As they offer unrivalled convenience and access to information, they also assist in extensive data collection, surveillance, and censorship. The interaction between government policies and laws, corporate interests, and individual behaviours creates a complicated ecosystem where privacy is always placed under threat.

As Uganda continues to pave the road to its digital economy, by bringing on board different digital technologies, it is very important to put in place healthy frameworks that safeguard citizens' privacy rights without throttling innovation and creativity. 

Public awareness and education about digital rights, coupled with transparent policies and regulations, can empower individuals to navigate the digital world responsibly and securely.

Oxfam, working in partnership with the Centre for Constitutional Governance, with funding from the European Union, through the Recentering the Civic Internet through Partner Engagement (ReCIPE) project is having several interventions that are looking at closing such gaps in Uganda’s digital ecosystem

In this digital age that is fast paced, the fundamental question remains: Are smartphones traitors or companions? I think the answer lies in how society chooses to balance the benefits of technology with the fundamental right to privacy, and their safety online.