Reimagining Ghana’s Electronic Transactions Act in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Legal Gaps, Risks, and Opportunities
Abstract
The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has transformed the landscape of digital transactions, challenging existing legal frameworks that were designed for an earlier era of electronic commerce. Ghana’s Electronic Transactions Act, 2008 (Act 772), while pioneering at the time of its enactment, now exhibits significant regulatory deficiencies in addressing the complexities of AI integration in digital markets. This article critically examines the legal gaps in Act 772 in relation to algorithmic agency, liability attribution, transparency, data protection, and consumer rights. Using a doctrinal and comparative methodology, it analyses global developments including the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act, the United Kingdom’s pro-innovation approach, and African policy responses to identify models that could inform Ghana’s legislative reform. The article argues that Act 772 must be reimagined through a risk-based and rights-oriented lens to remain relevant in the age of intelligent systems. It proposes a suite of legislative recommendations, including the introduction of AI- specific definitions, enhanced transparency obligations, ethical AI principles, liability frameworks, and institutional coordination mechanisms. The goal is to craft a forward-looking legal infrastructure that safeguards fundamental rights, promotes responsible innovation, and ensures public trust in AI-enabled electronic transactions. In doing so, the article contributes to the broader discourse on AI governance in Africa and offers a roadmap for aligning Ghana’s digital laws with emerging technological realities.
Keywords
Artificial IntelligenceElectronic Transactions ActDigital Regulation
References
Primary Sources • Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union [2012] OJ C326/391. • Data Protection Act 2012 (Act 843), ss 50–54. • Electronic Transaction Act (Act 772), ss 46–51. • Electronic Transactions Act 2008 (Act 772), long title and s 1. • Electronic Transactions Act 2008 (Act 772), s 3. • Electronic Transactions Act 2008 (Act 772), s 21. • Electronic Transactions Act 2008 (Act 772), ss 73–78. • Electronic Transactions Act, 2008 (Act 772). Ghana. • Income Tax Act 2015 (Act 896), ss 1–3. • Protection of Personal Information Act 2013 (South Africa), s 71. • Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation), art 22. • The 1992 Constitution of Ghana, art 18(2). • UNCITRAL, Model Law on Electronic Commerce with Guide to Enactment 1996 (UN 1999) https://uncitral.un.org/en/texts/ecommerce/modellaw/electronic_commerce accessed 27 July 2025. • Secondary Sources Books • Frank Pasquale, The Black Box Society: The Secret Algorithms That Control Money and Information (Harvard University Press 2015). • GHL Fridman, The Law of Agency (7th edn, LexisNexis 2011). • Mireille Hildebrandt, Law for Computer Scientists and Other Folk (Oxford University Press 2020). • Nanjala Nyabola, Digital Democracy, Analogue Politics: How the Internet Era is Transforming Politics in Kenya (Zed Books 2018). • Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism (PublicAffairs 2019). • Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig, Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach (4th edn, Pearson 2020). • Ugo Pagallo, The Laws of Robots: Crimes, Contracts and Torts (Springer 2013). Journal Articles • Emmanuel Dogbevi, ‘Artificial Intelligence Finds Use in Ghana’s Banking and Health Sectors’ Ghana Business News (Accra, 23 April 2023). • Harry Surden, ‘Artificial Intelligence and Law: An Overview’ (2019) 35 Georgia State University Law Review 1305. • Harry Surden and Timothy Hodel, ‘AI and the Automation of Legal Reasoning’ (2021) 22 Yale Journal of Law & Technology 1. • Ifeoma Ajunwa, ‘The Paradox of Automation as Anti-Bias Intervention’ (2020) 41(3) Cardozo Law Review 1671. • Kwame Asare-Nyarko, ‘Fragmented Oversight of Digital Technology in Ghana: A Regulatory Mapping’ (2022) 4(2) African Journal of Law and Technology 77. • Lilian Edwards, ‘Privacy, Security and Data Protection in Smart Cities: A Critical EU Law Perspective’ (2016) 2 European Data Protection Law Review 28. • Lilian Edwards, ‘Regulating AI in the UK and the EU: Convergence or Competition?’ (2021) 12(2) European Journal of Risk Regulation 418. • Lilian Edwards and Michael Veale, ‘Slave to the Algorithm? Why a “Right to an Explanation” is Probably Not the Remedy You Are Looking For’ (2017) 16(1) Duke Law and Technology Review 18. • Matthias Uhl and Martin Ebers, ‘Liability for Artificial Intelligence and EU Consumer Law’ (2020) 8(4) Journal of European Consumer and Market Law 160. • Nicolas Papernot and others, ‘Practical Black-Box Attacks against Machine Learning’ (2017) Proceedings of the 2017 ACM on Asia Conference on Computer and Communications Security 506. • Ryan Calo, ‘Artificial Intelligence Policy: A Primer and Roadmap’ (2018) 51(2) UC Davis Law Review 399. • Ryan Calo, ‘Digital Market Manipulation’ (2014) 82 George Washington Law Review • Sandra Wachter, Brent Mittelstadt and Luciano Floridi, ‘Transparent, Explainable, and Accountable AI for Robotics’ (2017) 2(6) Science Robotics eaap6962. • Sandra Wachter, Brent Mittelstadt and Luciano Floridi, ‘Why a Right to Explanation of Automated Decision-Making Does Not Exist in the General Data Protection Regulation’ (2017) 7(2) International Data Privacy Law 76. • Solon Barocas and Andrew D Selbst, ‘Big Data’s Disparate Impact’ (2016) 104(3) California Law Review 671. Online and Policy Sources • African Union Commission, Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa (2020–2030) (2020) https://au.int/en/documents/20200518/digital-transformation-strategy-africa- 2020-2030 accessed 30 July 2025. • African Union, Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa (2020–2030) https://au.int/en/documents/20200603/digital-transformation-strategy-africa accessed 27 July 2025. • Artificial Intelligence and Law – An Overview and History, Youtube, uploaded by Stanford Law School (15 September 2023) <www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=BG6YR0xGMRA>. • Bank of Ghana, ‘Payment Systems and Services Act 2019 (Act 987)’ https://www.bog.gov.gh accessed 30 July 2025. • Branka Marijan, ‘Securing AI: The Need for Cybersecurity by Design’ (Centre for International Governance Innovation, 2021) https://www.cigionline.org/publications/securing-ai/ accessed 27 July 2025. • Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (UK), A Pro-Innovation Approach to AI Regulation (Policy Paper, March 2023) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-regulation-a-pro-innovation-approach accessed 27 July 2025. • Desmond Israel, ‘Ghana’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy: A Critical Policy Analysis on Building a Sustainable AI Ecosystem’ (LinkedIn, 3 February 2025) <www.linkedin.com/pulse/ghanas-national-artificial-intelligence-strategy-ai-israel- esq-vwlwe/> accessed 21 August 2025. • European Commission, Artificial Intelligence Act COM(2021) 206 final, arts 6–10. • European Commission, Proposal for a Regulation Laying Down Harmonised Rules on Artificial Intelligence (Artificial Intelligence Act) COM(2021) 206 final. • European Commission, White Paper on Artificial Intelligence – A European Approach to Excellence and Trust COM(2020) 65 final. • European Parliament, ‘AI Act: Parliament’s New Rules for Artificial Intelligence’ (2024) https://www.europarl.europa.eu accessed 30 July 2025. • Ghana Law Reform Commission, ‘Mandate and Programmes’ https://www.lawreform.gov.gh accessed 30 July 2025. • Judicial Training Institute of Ghana, ‘Strategic Plan 2021–2025’ https://www.jti.gov.gh accessed 30 July 2025. • Ministry of ICT (Kenya), National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2022–2027 https://ict.go.ke/ai-strategy accessed 27 July 2025. • Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology (Kenya), Distributed Ledgers Technology and Artificial Intelligence Taskforce Report (2019) https://www.ict.go.ke/taskforce accessed 30 July 2025. • National Information Technology Development Agency (Nigeria), Draft National Artificial Intelligence Policy (2023) https://nitda.gov.ng/ai-policy accessed 27 July • OECD, Recommendation of the Council on Artificial Intelligence (2019) https://legalinstruments.oecd.org/en/instruments/OECD-LEGAL-0449 accessed 27 July 2025. • Republic of South Africa, Report of the Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (2020) https://www.stateofthenation.gov.za accessed 30 July • Spellbook AI, ‘Contract Drafting with GPT-4’ (2024) https://www.spellbook.legal accessed 30 July 2025. • Surden, Harry, ‘Artificial Intelligence and Law: An Overview’ (June 28, 2019) Georgia State University Law Review, Vol 35, U of Colorado Law Legal Studies Research Paper No 19-22, SSRN https://ssrn.com/abstract=3411869. • Thompson Kwarkye, ‘Navigating the Frontiers of AI Policies in Africa’ (Social Practice of Human Rights Conference and the 6th International Conference on the Right to Development, University of Dayton, 2023) https://ecommons.udayton.edu/human_rights/2023/concurrent5e/1/ accessed 21 August 2025. • White House OSTP, Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights (2022) https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/ai-bill-of-rights/ accessed 27 July 2025. • World Bank, Digital Ghana Agenda: A Roadmap for e-Transform Ghana (World Bank, 2021) https:/
More Articles from JOURNAL OF LAW AND GLOBAL POLICY
Guerrilla Tactics in Arbitration Practice in Nigeria: A Critical Analysis of the Legal and Institutional Framework
Author: Prof. Uwakwe Abugu, Olusola Sefeoluwa Ephraim-oluwanuga
Consent Without Data: The Regulatory Gap for Female Commercial Spaceflight Participants Under the FAA’s Informed Consent Regime
Author: Chedochukwu I. Ugochukwu, Oluwatosin R. Adeniyi, Nkiruka A. Ani
A Critical Appraisal of Employment Contracts Under the Nigerian Law: Rights, Obligations, Termination, and Remedies
Author: Somotun, Olufemi Olalekan, PhD, Nwobodo, Nnamdi Joseph, Esq, Avoseh, Francis, Pedepo, Elijah, Udeme Dapo, Udofia, Kenneth Thompson, Okon, Imoh Essien, Mhambe Celestine Tersoo
An Appraisal of the Legal Framework of Consular Immunity under International Law
Author: Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim Bukar, AFHEA-UK, PhD
State Responses to Hybrid Threats in Nigeria: A Critical Analysis of Terrorism, Banditry and Separatist Agitations, 2010-2025
Author: Adebimpe Saheed Fagbemi, Ph.D., Muhammad Sani Idris Doctoral Candidate, Mudassir Nasir, Ph.D.