The Information Regulator has launched a guidance note to direct how political parties and independent candidates use the personal information of voters for campaign purposes in the run-up to the national and provincial elections.
The new guidance note is an update to the one issued by the regulator in the run-up to the local government elections in 2019.
South Africa goes to the polls on 29 May to elect the leadership for the seventh administration, out of the 70 political parties and 11 independent candidates that were published by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) as final participants in these elections.
In total, there are 14 903 candidates vying for 887 seats in the national and provincial legislatures.
The new guidance note states parties and independent parties are not allowed to collect voters’ personal information from data brokers.
A data broker is an individual or company that specialises in collecting personal data or data about companies, mostly from public records but sometimes sourced privately, and selling or licensing such information to third-parties for a variety of uses.
According to cyber security firm Kaspersky, data broking is big business – it’s been estimated the industry is worth $200 billion per year, with up to 4 000 data brokering companies worldwide. Some of the most significant data brokers are Experian, Equifax, Acxiom and Epsilon, it adds.
Moving with the times
The Information Regulator says the new guidance note is based on recent developments in the electoral process following changes in electoral law (allowing for independent candidates to stand and campaign for elections), the increasing instances of security compromise to personal information in various segments of the economy and society, and increasing risks to the electoral process due to misinformation and disinformation.
The regulator enforces SA’s data privacy law − the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).
With the new guidance note, the regulator seeks to ensure political parties, independent candidates and the public are fully informed and enabled to take the necessary action to protect the personal information of voters during elections, and to minimise the risks to the free flow of accurate information that is crucial for informed participation in the electoral process.
The watchdog explains that the guidance note addresses aspects such as the responsibilities of political parties and independent candidates in terms of POPIA.
This is done by aligning each of the eight conditions for the lawful processing of personal information to the circumstances of political parties and independent candidates as they campaign for elections, it notes.
The guidance note indicates what is expected of political parties and independent candidates with regard to the protection of personal information of the voters in accordance with each of the eight conditions for the lawful processing of personal information.
For example, the guidance note states that if political parties and independent candidates want to use voters’ personal information for campaign purposes, they must collect it from the voters directly and not from data brokers or lead generators, and use it for campaign purposes only, says the regulator.
It also prohibits the supply of personal information that has been collected for campaigning purposes to third-parties without the voter’s consent.
The guidance note also addresses the issue of solicitation of donations by political parties and independent candidates through direct marketing.
It states that campaigning for votes does not constitute the promotion of any services and does not fall within the definition of direct marketing in POPIA. However, the act of a political party or independent candidate requesting donations is subject to the regulation of direct marketing in terms of POPIA. Therefore, in this respect, political parties and independent candidates have to comply with the provisions of POPIA in relation to direct marketing.
Keep it real
The regulator adds the guidance note regards misinformation and disinformation as a violation of the right of access to accurate and reliable information, and also violates the right to privacy of a person whose image and/or voice is used without their consent to spread fake messages through generative artificial intelligence.
“It, therefore, requires political parties and independent candidates to play their role in fighting misinformation and disinformation by developing and implementing policies and action plans to mitigate against misinformation and disinformation. The guidance note requires political parties and independent candidates to investigate instances of misinformation and disinformation by their campaigns and take disciplinary action against staff that engage in these practices.
“It also calls on the IEC to issue a code of conduct to address misinformation and disinformation in digital platforms to promote free, fair and orderly elections in terms of section 99(2) of the Electoral Act,” says the regulator.
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