June 2010 Edition
Computer Science Department, University of Cape Town
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Recently two important acts concerning privacy have been introduced to the South African public. One is still in draft form.
The first one, which is already in effect is the so-called Interception Act (Full title: the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-related Information Act) mandate electronic communication provides (such as ISPs) to make it possible for law enforcement agency to intercept and/or monitor electronic communication. In order to be able to monitor communication the following steps must be taken:
Law enforcement must be possession of information or evident that electronic communications are being used in the commission of the crime.
They must approach the court and request an "interception direction". The sitting judge will then decide on the merit of the evident present and will grant or refuse this directive.
Once the interception direction is obtained, it can then be served to the relevant service provider who is then required by law to monitor any communication made by the individual or party concerned and then to forward all surveillance information to the law enforcement agency. Note that the person under surveillance needs not be informed.
The protection of personal information Act is still in draft form at the time of writing (the deadline for comments is 28 February 2006). It is seen by some as a counterbalance to the Interception Act above. The act seeks to provide South African with legal means to protect their personal information. Currently this is only covered through the Constitution and a number of sections of other Acts. This proposed act will unifies the different aspects under the same piece of legislature. Additionally, the act will also deal with the rapid transfer of personal information with other countries via the Internet and Call centres.
It is likely that by the time you are reading this set of notes that another draft of the proposed act has been released. The media might also be covering it in more detail. Try and get hold of the most recent draft or some analysis of it in the media. How has it changed?
Discuss if and how the interception and privacy counterbalance one another. Do you have concerns about either of the acts?