Thomas Johnson - The Blog

 The right to privacy is a constitutional and common law right in South Africa. The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) Act recognises that right and regulates the processing of personal information.  POPIA makes provisions for regulation of direct marketing, automated decision making and processing of cross-border flows of information. It covers  eight principles  (Michalsons):  · Personal information must be obtained in a lawful and fair manner.  · Information can only be used for the specified purpose it was originally obtained for.  · Further processing of personal information is prohibited except if the subject agrees.  · The person who processes the information must ensure the quality of the information.  · The person processing personal information should be transparent.  · There must be proper security measures to safeguard against loss, damage, destruction, and the unauthorised or unlawful access or processing of the ...

Daily Maverick issued an apology and retraction following investigative journalist and author Jacques Pauw's piece about his altercation and arrest at V&A Waterfront. Pauw's article appeared on DM on February 12.  This week Pauw apologised to all concerned. He said he had had "too much to drink" and apparently couldn't remember what had happened. DM fired him. Trying to deflect blame, editor Branko Brkic said the episode called the media's ethics into question. DM had no reason to doubt this first-person account from a prominent if not famous writer. However, it doesn't offers the same courtesy to John Public - it doesn't publish letters to the editor and right of reply as I've found from personal experience. There's a different standard for the media and its members. But Pauw's Sturm und Drang piece is another story. His previously good reputation and hazy drunkenness aside, this was poor editorial by DM, a situation I've noted of ...