An Act for the Collection, Processing, Transmission, Storage, Protection, and Use of Personal Information in Liberia (Draft Data Protection Bill)

Liberia does not yet have an enacted personal data protection statute. The country's first dedicated data protection bill, formally titled 'An Act for the Collection, Processing, Transmission, Storage, Protection, and Use of Personal Information in Liberia', was developed by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MoPT) with technical and financial support from Internews under the European Union-funded Liberia Media Empowerment Project (LMEP). The bill was subjected to two rounds of stakeholder validation, with the most recent forum held in Monrovia in December 2024. Over 50 stakeholders participated, drawn from government, civil society organisations, the media, the education sector, legal practitioners, and the diplomatic corps. President Joseph Nyumah Boakai subsequently submitted the bill to the Legislature in 2025, and the House of Representatives began committee review. As at the date of drafting (June 2026), the bill had not been enacted. The draft bill is designed to govern the collection, processing, storage, transmission, and use of personal data relating to any resident of Liberia, individuals in the ECOWAS region, or individuals beyond. It is intended to impose obligations on data controllers and processors, establish data subject rights, and create penalties for unauthorised access, unlawful processing, breach concealment, and malicious disclosure of personal information. The bill reflects international best practice and the ECOWAS Supplementary Act A/SA.1/01/10 of 2010. Its substantive provisions on data subject rights, lawful basis for processing, sensitive data categories, and cross-border transfer restrictions are consistent with the regional model, though details of the final version remain subject to further parliamentary amendment. No dedicated data protection authority has been established. The MoPT is the lead government ministry responsible for the bill's development, but it is not expected to be the permanent supervisory authority; the bill is understood to contemplate a new or designated regulatory body. Reviewers should check the official status of this bill with the Liberia Legislature and the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. No official public text of the draft bill has been confirmed for this entry; locating and linking the official draft text is a priority action for the assigned reviewer.

1. 1The bill covers collection, processing, storage, transmission and use of personal information by controllers and processors, including those outside Liberia processing data of Liberian residents.
2. 2Data subject rights are anticipated to include access, rectification, erasure, and objection consistent with the ECOWAS regional model.
3. 3Penalties are anticipated for unauthorised access, unlawful processing, breach concealment, and malicious disclosure of personal information.
4. 4Cross-border transfer restrictions are anticipated consistent with the ECOWAS Supplementary Act framework.
5. 5No dedicated data protection authority has yet been established; the supervisory authority model to be adopted under the enacted law is not yet confirmed.
6. 6The bill was developed with EU and Internews support under the Liberia Media Empowerment Project and validated by stakeholders in December 2024.
7. 7As at June 2026, the bill was under parliamentary review and had not been enacted; all provisions are subject to amendment.
8. 8Reviewer action required: confirm current parliamentary status, locate official draft text, and update entry upon enactment.