<
https://www.techdirt.com/2026/07/23/digital-colonialism-u-s-demands-to-access-africans-data-raise-privacy-sovereignty-concerns/>
"Frank Ssekamwa says the United States presented his country with an impossible
choice. If it accepted the terms of a new health agreement, Uganda would have
to give the U.S. access to the data of millions of his fellow citizens — a
decision he worries would make their personal information more vulnerable to
breaches and possible exploitation.
But if it refused, the East African nation would likely lose out on more than a
billion dollars to address HIV, malaria, tuberculosis and other illnesses, even
as its people face ongoing threats from Ebola and other deadly infectious
diseases.
So, on Dec. 10, it agreed.
“If you take the deal, you’re going to be exploited. If you don’t take it,
you’re going to die,” said Ssekamwa, an attorney and digital rights expert in
Uganda. “It’s the essence of digital colonialism.”
Across Africa, countries have faced similar dilemmas as the U.S. has held a
series of closed-door negotiations in which lifesaving aid has been conditioned
on access to citizens’ health data. The negotiations come in the wake of the
dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development, which — in
contrast with the new contracts — provided billions of dollars in aid with few
strings attached. Officials in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Ghana have been so outraged
by the demands that they rejected the initial deals."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
