#ProtectingPrivacy

An interesting thing happened on Twitter last night.

DA leader Mmusi Maimane tweeted a list of candidates from the opposing party. The list contained name, surname, ID number and other details.

Someone responded by publicly tweeting a screenshot of the Maimane’s tweet – including the list – asking ‘Can we sue Mmusi for posting people’s names and ID numbers on social media? …This can’t be right!’

Another person quoted that tweet – again including the list –  and asserted that this is a criminal offence under POPI.

Whether Maimane’s tweet would be lawful under POPI is somewhat academic as the relevant sections of POPI have not commenced yet. In any event, unlawful processing does not automatically constitute a criminal offence, instead, the Regulator (once established) would deal with the complaint and take appropriate action. POPI contains specific criminal provisions, for example, obstructing the Regulator (s100) or processing information that is subject to prior authorisation (s59).

What I would like to highlight however, is that the core idea of POPI is the protection of personal information.

We all have a right to privacy under the Constitution. If you think that someone’s information has been leaked, re-publishing that information is not an appropriate response.

If protecting someone’s privacy is really the motive, how does it help to re-publish their information to an even wider audience?

In my view it would be good if we could get back to what actually underlies POPI: respect for others and trust relationships.