Legislation and privacy rights in South Africa
Publish date: 17 November 2004
Issue Number: 1056
Diary: Legalbrief eLaw
Category: Privacy
As the use of information technology increases, there has been an upsurge in the way that people can access and deal with personal data, particularly in electronic format and over electronic communications systems.
While some governments have adopted various data protection measures, SA boasts no equivalent, although this is currently under review by the SA Law Reform Commission. In an article that first appeared in BNA International, Lisa Thornton and Kerron Edmunson examine the concept of privacy in South Africa with respect to the Constitution and how several key pieces of legislation - specifically the Promotion of Access to Information Act and the Regulation of Interception and Provision of Communications-Related Information Act - might affect the right to privacy. The authors write that the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act does offer some guidelines for the use of personal data, and thus has a positive effect on the right of privacy, but it does not in itself offer relief if those principles are not upheld. Read the full article on the eLaw & Management site
