Congo Law 29-2019 compliance and requirements, so your data handling holds up when someone asks.

What it is

What is Congo's Law 29-2019 and what is it used for?

Law No. 29-2019 on the protection of personal data is Congo's personal data protection law. The law applies to collection and processing of personal data by individuals, the State, decentralised authorities and public or private legal persons, to any controller on Congolese territory, and to controllers established elsewhere that use processing means located in Congo, who must appoint a representative there. Processing needs consent unless the law lists an exception (legal duty, public-interest task, contract, vital interests).

Under the Law, the commission in charge of personal data protection receives declarations, grants authorisations, receives breach notifications and authorises certain transfers abroad. The practical test: for any personal data you hold, could you show its purpose and basis, who was told, how it is protected and where it goes?

Current law. Law No. 29-2019 of 10 October 2019 on the protection of personal data, published in the Journal officiel de la République du Congo, No. 45 of 7 November 2019. Confirm current wording and the authority's guidance with your legal advisers.

Who it is for

Who needs to comply with Congo's Law 29-2019?

The Law reaches organisations of every size that handle personal data in Congo. Organisations usually come to Sterling for a structured programme from one of four directions:

• Any organisation processing personal data in Congo. The law reaches individuals, the State, local authorities and public or private legal persons, and any controller operating on Congolese territory.
• Foreign companies, outsourcers and cloud providers using processing means in Congo. A controller established elsewhere that uses means located in Congo must appoint a representative there, and transfers out of the CEMAC/CEEAC area are restricted.
• Banks, insurers, health providers and employers. Health and biometric data carry special rules, and processing of certain categories needs the commission's authorisation or a data protection officer.
• Marketing teams and online services. Direct prospecting needs the person's prior consent, and a minor can consent alone to online services only from the digital age the law sets.

The aim is handling of personal information that you control and can evidence. Compliance depends on how the rules are applied every day, not on a policy document alone.

Requirements

What are the main Congo Law 29-2019 requirements?

Strip away the vocabulary and Congo's personal data law requires a business to meet six practical duties in how it handles information about people. The list below puts each one in business terms; the Law and the regulator's guidance give the full wording and exceptions.

• Rely on consent or a listed ground: processing needs free, specific, informed consent unless the law lists an exception, such as a legal duty, contract or vital interests. Sensitive data is barred except in listed cases.
• Declare or seek authorisation first: most processing is declared to the commission, which issues a receipt; genetic, health-research, criminal-offence, biometric and national-identifier data and file interconnections need its prior authorisation.
• Inform people and honour their rights: people are told who collects their data, why and for how long, and can access, correct, object to or port it. Direct prospecting needs prior consent.
• Secure data, keep records, name an officer: controllers and processors apply technical and organisational security, keep a register of processing, bind processors by written contract and designate a data protection officer in the cases the law lists.
• Assess high-risk processing and report breaches: high-risk processing needs an impact assessment first. A breach goes to the commission without delay and, where the risk is high, to the people affected.
• Control transfers outside the CEMAC and CEEAC area: data may go only to countries with adequate protection, with the commission informed beforehand; limited exceptions exist, and the commission can authorise transfers where the controller gives sufficient guarantees.

Compliance route

How do you achieve Congo Law 29-2019 compliance?

There is no certificate at the end of this route. Compliance is something your organisation demonstrates, to the data protection commission if a complaint or incident arises, and to customers who ask. Sterling helps you build and run the programme; interpretation of the law in contested cases remains with your legal advisers and, ultimately, the regulator and the courts.

1. 01
   Map the personal information you handle.Customers, staff, users and suppliers: what is collected, for which purpose, on which basis, where it is stored, who processes it for you and whether it leaves Congo.
2. 02
   Gap analysis: compare current practice with the Law.Each area of the Law reviewed against what actually happens, with actions, owners and dates agreed.
3. 03
   Put the controls and routines in place.Complete the formalities the Law asks for, rewrite notices and consent wording, put security measures and processor contracts in place, name who is responsible and agree a breach procedure.
4. 04
   Test the programme and review the results.Internal review of samples, a simulated incident or data-subject request, and a management review that closes findings with evidence.
5. 05
   Operate, demonstrate and keep it current.Answer requests, record incidents and report them as the Law requires, keep formalities current, review transfers, refresh training and follow the data protection commission's guidance as it is issued.

Check the route before you sign. The Law creates no certificate of compliance, so treat any offer of a "Congo Law 29-2019 certificate" with suspicion. If a customer wants independent assurance, ISO/IEC 27701 or ISO/IEC 27001 is certifiable by an accredited certification body; confirm the body's accreditation scope directly with the accreditation body concerned.

Cost

How much does Congo Law 29-2019 compliance cost?

The cost of a Congo Law 29-2019 programme is driven by how much personal information you hold, how many systems and suppliers touch it, and how much already works. Your proposal shows each component, with what is included and what remains for your legal advisers.

Timeline

How long does Congo Law 29-2019 compliance take?

Timing depends on how scattered your personal information is, how quickly system owners respond and how much has to change. Your proposal sets out the phases for your scope, long enough to map the information, fix the gaps and show that requests and incidents are handled the way the procedures say.

If a customer or contract has set a date, tell us at the outset and we will say plainly what can be in place by then and what should follow.

Your engagement

What your Congo Law 29-2019 engagement includes

Your scope covers the full programme, from the information map to evidence that runs. Sterling does not certify, attest or validate compliance with the Law, and the Law creates no certificate of compliance; the data protection commission supervises it, and we work alongside your legal advisers.

• Information map, gap analysis and plan

  Sources, systems, suppliers and overseas flows, with actions and owners agreed.

• Policies, notices and procedures

  Notices, consent wording, request, security and breach procedures, processor contract terms and transfer documents, drafted from Sterling's own templates with your teams.

• Effivity ISO & GRC software

  Registers, requests and incidents managed in Effivity, included with the engagement at no additional cost.

• Training for everyone

  Internal auditor training for your review team, as applicable to your standard, and preferential Sterling Academy access, including complimentary awareness training for your people as part of the engagement.

• Internal review and management review

  Sample testing, an incident exercise and findings closed with evidence.

• Formalities support

  Help preparing the formalities the Law asks for and the responsible person's role, with findings closed with evidence.

Sterling OS™ sets how we deliver. Design™ is guided support, where your team builds the programme with our consultants' direction; Drive™ is managed support, where our consultants do most of the work with your input. You choose one of the two, not both in sequence. Once the programme is operating, Sustain™ keeps reviews, training and updates on schedule, and Automate™ is Effivity, where the records live.

Under the Law, the commission in charge of personal data protection receives declarations, grants authorisations, receives breach notifications and authorises certain transfers abroad.

Often combined with

Standards organisations pair with Law 29-2019 (Congo)

• ADGM Data Protection Regulations 2021ADGM data protection compliance for entities under the 2021 Regulations: lawful bases, DPO, impact assessments, 72-hour breach notice and transfers, all-inclusive proposal.
• APEC CBPRAPEC CBPR certification and requirements explained: Global CBPR and PRP, Accountability Agent review, annual renewal and how Sterling prepares your team.
• APPI (Japan)APPI compliance for Japan's Act on the Protection of Personal Information: the requirements, PPC breach reporting, cross-border rules and an all-inclusive programme.
• Bahrain PDPLBahrain PDPL compliance and requirements explained: consent, notification to the Authority, transfers abroad, 72-hour breach reporting, rights, cost and timing.
• CCPA / CPRACCPA compliance and requirements under the CPRA: notices, consumer rights, opt-outs, risk assessments, cybersecurity audits and ADMT, in an all-inclusive programme.
• Cyber and Data Protection Act (Zimbabwe)Zimbabwe's Cyber and Data Protection Act [Chapter 12:07]: POTRAZ licensing, lawful processing, security and transfers, built into a programme.