“Consumer Protection in Ethiopia's Telecom Sector: New Beginnings and Prospects”
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Date
2021-09
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AAU
Abstract
A few sectors have been selected for special treatment because of their unique importance to society. The telecom industry is one such identified sector in which consumers have legal protection. Telecom consumers' legal protection has progressed through several stages. This thesis examines the legal protection of consumers in Ethiopia's telecommunication sector. Ethiopia had no tailored consumer protection laws for telecom consumers, and safeguards were only made with generic consumer laws. Special telecom consumer protection has been enacted as a result of the recent (and ongoing) telecom policy reform. In line with international trends, Ethiopia's consumer laws in the telecom sector consider the particular characteristics of telecom consumers. The laws are designed to counter the power gap in bargaining power between consumers and telecom operators, uphold social injustice, address knowledge asymmetry and transaction costs. The quality of legal and institutional framework of consumer protection determines the effectiveness of consumer protection in the sector. The thesis examines Ethiopia's consumer protection framework based on comparative studies. It argues that current Ethiopian law exhibits several normative gaps that undermine consumer rights. The country fails to legislate laws to protect vulnerable consumer rights, a structurally independent regulator, consumer civil association representation in the regulator, net neutrality rules on Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) services, and data breach notification standards. There are no clear rules and an independent investigative team made up of system managers in the Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA) to determine operator’s violation of consumer privacy. The Ethiopian Communications Service Proclamation (EthCSP) specifies access rights to Service Number Portability (SNP), but not how the procedures shall be carried out. Surveillance of Internet and phone correspondence is permitted under a number of broad statutes with a low burden of proof that has only rudimentary protection for the right to privacy. In addition, the modest survey of the practice shows there was an awareness gap among consumers about their own rights in the industry. The operator fails to have disclosure terms on privacy and data protection on the subscriber’s service agreement. And the contract is an adhesive in nature that does not include the rights of consumers in a clear manner which needs amendment. The ECA is yet to educate consumers and inform their rights.
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Keywords
Consumer Protection, Telecom Consumer, Telecommunications Service, EthCSP, ECA