Watchful Eyes, Vulnerable Citizens: Foreign Tech, Surveillance Capitalism, and the Future of Privacy in Africa

It further examines how imported surveillance technologies often justified by national security or anti-terrorism rhetoric may be weaponized domestically in ways that threaten freedom of expression, political participation, and the right to privacy. Through a legal comparative analysis and policy critique, this study recommends harmonized data protection laws across African states, a continent-wide privacy rights charter, transparent procurement and review of surveillance tech, and stricter rules for foreign data processors operating on African soil.