Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
The National Assembly's portfolio committee on justice and constitutional development has been briefed on the Protection of Personal Information Bill by the department of justice and the law reform commission (SALRC).
The justice team, lead by deputy director general Deon Rudman, told MPs that more than 50 countries, including four in Africa, have already enacted information protection legislation and the number is still growing.
It was pointed out to the committee that although the detailed mechanisms of information protection in the international instruments and laws varied, all required that personal information had to be
* obtained fairly and lawfully;
* used only for the specific purpose for which it was originally obtained;
* adequate, relevant and not excessive to the purpose;
* accurate and up to date;
* accessible to the subject;
* kept secure; and
* destroyed after its purpose was completed.
The Bill was tabled in Parliament by the minister of justice on August 25th after the SALRC submitted its report on privacy and data protection to government, together with a draft bill, in April this year.
The portfolio committee has already invited public comment on the legislation and the committee is expected to indicate soon how and when it will handle oral submissions by the public.
The Bill (at this stage B9 - 2009) aims to
* promote the protection of personal information processed by public and private bodies;
* introduce information protection principles so as to establish minimum requirements for the
processing of personal information;
* provide for the establishment of an information protection regulator;
* provide for the issuing of codes of conduct;
* provide for the rights of persons regarding unsolicited electronic communications and
automated decision making; and
* regulate the flow of personal information across the country's borders.
Sabinet Cape Town Office
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