Ghanaian petitions Vodafone Group UK over allegations of privacy breaches by Vodafone Ghana

According to Francis Kwarteng Arthur’s solicitors, Archbridge Solicitors, they petitioned Vodafone Group UK, due to the “nonchalant posturing” of Vodafone Ghana in protecting the privacy of its customers.

“While other telecommunication network or service providers, like MTN, have vehemently contested the request as overly disproportionate or even irrelevant to the stated purpose and, thereby, a threat to subscribers’ right to privacy, your Ghana office has, at best, remained completely silent and unconcerned about the issue”, the petition states in its paragraph 2(e).

Mr Kwarteng Arthur has also dragged President Akufo-Addo, the National Communication Authority, Kelni GVG, Vodafone Ghana, and MTN to court over allegations of privacy rights violations.

In March this year, the president issued an Executive Instrument (EI 63) in which he directed all telecommunication network or service providers in Ghana to provide the personal information of subscribers to him through Kelni GVG, a private company.

According to the preamble of EI 63, the personal information will be used to “trace all contacts of persons suspected or actually affected by a public health emergency and identify the places visited by persons suspected of or actually affected by a public health emergency.”

But Mr Arthur says the President’s order is a violation of the rights of subscribers to privacy since “the President’s choice of such a disproportionate measure to address the purpose of contact tracing is, with the greatest respect, unreasonable.” This was contained in the suit he brought to the Human Rights Court, Accra, in April 2020.

MTN Ghana also said that the request that was made on them “constituted a disproportionate invasion of privacy” as the request has “absolutely no nexus with the purpose” of COVID-19 contact tracing.

Mr Arthur has given Vodafone Group UK an ultimatum to get Vodafone Ghana to not only speak to the allegation but also to develop a solution.

“We wish to notify you (and notice is hereby given) that should you, within 14 days of receiving this letter, fail to commit, unequivocally, to meeting all the above demands, we shall, without further recourse to you, proceed and resort to other lawful avenues for resolving this matter with the aim, among others, of remedying any injuries that the conduct of Vodafone may cause to our client,” the lawyers advised.

Ghanaian petitions Vodafone Group UK over allegations of privacy breaches by Vodafone Ghana

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