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South Africa: Information Regulator publishes guidance note on processing personal information of voters
On May 14, 2024, the Information Regulator published a guidance note intending to guide political parties and candidates regarding the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and how to comply. The Information Regulator stated that Section 26 of the POPIA prohibits the processing of special personal information concerning the 'political persuasion of voters.' The guidance note further defines 'political persuasion of voters' as 'persuading a voter to join a political party or canvassing support of a voter for a political party or independent candidate.' Section 31 of the POPIA is also mentioned in the guidance note as an exception to the rule and allows political parties to collect and use the personal information of a voter to:
- form a political party;
- participate in its activities;
- recruit its members; and
- canvass supporters.
The Information Regulator highlighted that the guidance note reviews the eight conditions for the lawful processing of personal information that political parties and candidates must comply with. The Information Regulator highlighted the eight conditions include:
- accountability;
- process limitation;
- purpose specification;
- further processing limitation;
- information quality;
- openness;
- security safeguards; and
- data subject participation.
You can read the guidance note here.
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