Citizen engagement platform GovChat has allayed public concerns raised around its use of citizens’ data, saying it has always had strong security and data privacy measures.
Speaking during a webinar last week, titled “A modern-day David vs Goliath”, GovChat founder and CEO Eldrid Jordaan explained the citizen engagement platform had over the past few months been accused by various entities of illegally using citizens’ data in exchange for the public services it provides.
Founded in 2016 and launched in 2018, GovChat is the official communications platform for government.
Its platform is accessed through WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, SMS and USSD channels to, among other functions, enable millions of South Africans to digitally apply for Social Relief in Distress grants and report municipal issues, such as potholes in their area.
The start-up had over the past two years been embroiled in a legal battle with Facebook parent company Meta, with the tech giant accusing it of violating its terms of service.
In its complaint, Facebook had said GovChat was illegally collecting and using citizens’ sensitive data, including identity numbers.
To add fuel to the fire, in November last year, non-profit Open Secrets released a report, titled “Digital profiteers: Who profits next from social grants?” It names GovChat among the private companies that profit from the personal data they gather through their digital systems co-created with governments.
“I want to address the concerns that have been brought about by Facebook, WhatsApp and Open Secrets around GovChat using the platform to profit from data. I want to assure you that GovChat takes data privacy and security very, very seriously,” said Jordaan.
“Yes, we are a for-profit company, but not once have we said we will profit out of personal data and information from citizens. The information management system that we provide to various government departments is anonymised, aggregated and stripped of raw information. Based on contractual agreements with government, GovChat cannot sell or transfer data to a third-party.”
GovChat’s collection and use of data is fully in compliance with all laws, including the Protection of Personal Information Act and General Data Protection Regulation, added Jordaan.
The start-up says it uses the services of cyber security firms to safeguard information and conduct extensive, regular penetrating testing and vulnerability tests. These security audits analyse how well the system and data is protected. The citizen data, noted Jordaan, is stored by the various government departments.
According to Open Secrets’ investigation, in the “digital welfare state” era, online systems of private firms are used as manipulation tools to cause harm to vulnerable citizens who are in need of social assistance, through illegal gathering and use of their data.
Responding to these allegations, Jordaan pointed out: “Nowhere in the report does Open Secrets identify any misconduct by GovChat – the innuendo and inferences are unsupported allegations with no factual basis for inclusion.
“After the open secrets report, we have engaged with institutions like the Information Regulator (IR), asking whether we could sit with them and see if there is any concern from the regulator’s point of view, in the way that GovChat processes its data.
“I can say that until today, we have not received a complaint from the IR around any concern with the way that we operate and facilitate data.”
In the Facebook legal battle, GovChat eventually came out victorious when the Competition Commission referredMeta Platforms and its subsidiaries, WhatsApp and Facebook South Africa, to the Competition Tribunal for prosecution for abuse of dominance.
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