Nigerians, others exposed to online fraud — UN agency

Major gaps in cyber law adoption leave consumers in Nigeria and a few other nations vulnerable during the coronavirus crisis as they access goods and services online, findings by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development have shown.

Only 66 per cent of the nations of the world safeguard people’s data and privacy, despite an 11 percentage point increase in the adoption of data protection and privacy legislation between 2015 and 2020, according to new UNCTAD data.

The results of a new survey on global cyber law adoption, released during the UNCTAD eWeek held virtually showed that there was legislation on consumer protection, privacy and data protection and cybercrime in Nigeria.

However, the UN agency said draft legislation on electronic transactions in Nigeria increased the vulnerability of citizens to scams online.

The agency said it was not enough for Nigeria and other countries to have the law but they must be enforced, adding that developing countries often had insufficient resources for enforcement.

The UNCTAD data showed that the share of adoption of data protection and privacy legislation was even lower among least developed countries, at just 43 per cent.

“Given the rise of cybercrime, scams and online fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic, the survey results are very worrying,” the Director of UNCTAD’s division on technology and logistics, Shamika Sirimanne, said.

For e-commerce to effectively support development, she said consumers and businesses must feel protected.

“This is especially true in these trying times, when digital tools are increasingly the only vehicle to access goods and services,” Sirimanne added.

For consumer confidence to pick up and people to trust e-commerce, she stated that more countries must have legal frameworks that could adequately protect their citizens online.

The survey showed that another 10 per cent of countries had draft legislation on data protection and privacy expected to become laws in 2020.

These countries, according to the report, include Thailand and Brazil, which have based their legislation on the European General Data Protection Regulation issued in 2018, similar to Australia, New Zealand, Korea and South Africa.

In Brazil, the new law will replace or supplement the 40 or so sector-based legal norms currently dealing with data and privacy that at times are inconsistent and non-compatible.

The survey showed that the evolving cybercrime landscape and resulting skills gaps were a significant challenge to law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, especially for cross-border enforcement.

UNCTAD recommended that when countries adopted new cyber laws, they should opt for technology-neutral legislation when possible, to avoid the need for regular revisions and ensure compatibility among different legal systems.

It said that UNCTAD’s Cyberlaw Tracker launched in 2015, provided a repository of relevant laws in four legal areas essential for building trust in e-commerce: e-transactions, cybercrime, consumer protection, as well as data and privacy protection.

The 2020 study found that globally, 81 per cent of countries had an e-transaction law with Europe having the highest share (98 per cent), followed by the Americas (91 per cent) and the share is lowest in Africa (61 per cent).

Although 79 per cent of countries have cybercrime legislation, the report said the share again varied widely by region as Europe had the highest at 89 per cent and Africa the lowest at 72 per cent.

For consumer protection online, the study found that the global share is 56 per cent but the rate of adoption varies from 73 per cent in Europe and 72 per cent in the Americas to 46 per cent in Africa.

Concerning data and privacy, UNCTAD data indicated that 66 per cent of countries had legislation; the share is 96 per cent in Europe, 69 per cent in the Americas, 57 per cent in Asia and the Pacific and 50 per cent in Africa.

In general, the agency said least developed countries were trailing behind as relevant laws were particularly weak for data and privacy protection (43 per cent) and consumer protection (40 per cent).

For e-transaction and cybercrime laws, UNCTAD found that the adoption rate was 64 per cent and 66 per cent respectively.