In 2018, the European Union made history. With the enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the bloc sent a powerful message: personal data was not a commodity, but a right. For countries like Nigeria, then drafting its own digital laws, the GDPR became the gold standard — a beacon of what robust data protection could look like.
But seven years later, that golden shield is beginning to tarnish.
Despite its broad scope and hefty penalties, the GDPR has failed to curtail the unchecked power of social media giants. EU citizens continue to be profiled, manipulated, and monetised by platforms whose business models are built on mass surveillance and algorithmic addiction. And as a recent paper by legal scholar Caroline Doulcet suggests, the regulation’s flaws may run deeper than previously thought.
The myth of empowered consent
At the core of the GDPR is a promise: that individuals can take control of their personal data. Yet this “consent-based model” assumes that users can make informed choices in a digital landscape dominated by designed dark patterns and misleading language. In truth, clicking “I agree” has become meaningless — an automated response to access a service, not an informed decision.
This should sound the alarm for Nigeria and other African nations building out their data protection regimes. Our own Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA), enacted in 2023, similarly leans on user consent as a foundation for lawful data processing. But if Europe, with its mature institutions and regulatory infrastructure, cannot make this model work against Silicon Valley titans, how much more vulnerable are countries without such firepower?
A system obsessed with procedure, not protection
Doulcet also critiques the GDPR’s proceduralism — the tendency to focus on paperwork and compliance checklists over substantive protection. If a company ticks the right boxes, it may appear compliant, even if its core business model continues to exploit user data for behavioural advertising and psychological manipulation.
In Nigeria’s digital economy — where fintech apps, e-commerce platforms, and content aggregators are increasingly collecting sensitive personal data — the same danger looms. Without substantive enforcement and a focus on actual harm, privacy regulation becomes little more than theatre.
Africa’s growing digital dependence
The implications stretch beyond legal theory. Africa is becoming one of the most surveilled and data-exploited regions in the world — not by our own governments alone, but by foreign platforms operating with minimal oversight. Social media apps influence elections, shape public opinion, and commercialise user attention with little regard for local norms or values.
With Nigeria’s population projected to exceed 220 million and its digital adoption accelerating, data is fast becoming our most valuable national resource. But as with oil, value without regulation leads to exploitation.
What must Nigeria do differently?
The GDPR’s failures offer a roadmap of what not to replicate. Here are three imperatives for Nigeria and African regulators:
- Move beyond individual consent – Develop frameworks that treat privacy as a collective right, particularly in cases of political manipulation, child targeting, or disinformation. Consent is not enough when the system itself is skewed.
- Use the fairness principle as a weapon – Introduce localised interpretations of “fairness” to stop exploitative practices outright. What is “fair” in London may not be “fair” in Lagos. Regulation must reflect cultural and societal contexts.
- Build muscle for enforcement – Fund and empower the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) to act swiftly and boldly against both local and foreign actors. Fines must be more than symbolic; they must change behaviour.
A chance to lead, not just follow
The GDPR is still a landmark. But even the EU is now recognising that strong laws mean little without stronger enforcement and cultural change. For Nigeria and Africa, the opportunity is not just to copy the EU framework, but to innovate beyond it.
By anchoring data protection in digital sovereignty, economic resilience, and societal values, African nations can chart a new course — one that respects individual rights, protects communities, and resists digital colonisation.
If Europe’s mistake was placing too much faith in procedural safeguards and Silicon Valley’s goodwill, Nigeria’s future must lie in agile, courageous, and context-driven regulation.
The digital future is African. But only if we protect it.
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Michael Irene, CIPM, CIPP(E) certification, is a data and information governance practitioner based in London, United Kingdom. He is also a Fellow of Higher Education Academy, UK, and can be reached via moshoke@yahoo.com; twitter: @moshoke
