Information regulators say political parties cannot bombard voters with messages without their consent.
- political parties shouldn't do that “Attacking” prospective voters without their prior consent.
- Furthermore, if there are people who object to the use of personal information, political parties must cease to exist.
- This is according to the information regulator, which took part in a webinar entitled 'Misinformation, disinformation and data protection' during the election period on Monday.
As the election approaches, prospective voters may expect their cell phones to start ringing with more frequent notification alerts and scary messages from political parties begging for their support.
However, political parties can only send messages if potential voters have consented to receive communications from political parties and are required to comply with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).
On Monday, International Data Privacy Day, the information regulator, the South African Electoral Commission and the African Media Watchdog hosted a webinar entitled Misinformation, disinformation and data protection during elections.
Advocate Tshepo Boikanyo, an official at the information regulator that oversees POPIA, said political parties can only process direct information from voters that is reasonably necessary.
Data brokers may not be available.
Furthermore, voters can object at any time to parties processing their personal information. After that, you may not be able to process that person's information.
Boikaño said:
Political parties cannot send mass messages to voters without obtaining their consent to process their personal information.
Additionally, a party may only seek consent once from an individual to solicit donations via electronic communications.
If consent is withheld, the parties will not be able to contact you again.
An example is shown below.
- Purchasing marketing lists or lifestyle information from data brokers without conducting adequate due diligence on the data broker and ensuring the extent to which the data is properly collected and consented to.
- Use of third-party data analytics companies and insufficient confirmation that they are collecting data with consent for specific uses.
- Providing voter contact lists to social media companies without necessary checks and verification.
The Information Regulator noted that parties often obtain and use personal information in ways that may be contrary to the provisions of POPIA.
Information regulators are concerned about the lack of transparency (meaning voters are not aware of their rights), the potential for voters to be surveilled, the handling of high-risk information such as political beliefs, race, gender, etc. , has some concerns regarding data security during elections. , cross-border information flows and illegal collection of personal information.
Voikaño said if voters feel their rights regarding POPIA have been violated, they can file a complaint with the Information Regulatory Authority.
This will be investigated and may be referred to the Executive Committee.
