Other info bill 'not an attack on media'

Cape Town 110526- DA member Dene Smuts and and other opposition members oppose during the discussion about the information bill in Parliament. Picture Cindy waxa.Reporter Gaye

Cape Town 110526- DA member Dene Smuts and and other opposition members oppose during the discussion about the information bill in Parliament. Picture Cindy waxa.Reporter Gaye

Published Aug 1, 2012

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The less-talked-about information bill - the Protection of Personal Information Bill - is not another attack on mainstream media, ANC and opposition MPs have assured, but will instead crack down on direct marketing companies.

On Tuesday, the portfolio committee on justice and constitutional development discussed the bill, which had been before Parliament the longest out of those yet to be finalised.

Its main intention is to reinforce Section 14 of the constitution, which grants everyone the right to privacy. Now in its seventh draft, the bill is expected to be made into law before the end of this year. It aims to “promote the protection of personal information processed by public and private - bodies” and to introduce information protection and establish minimum requirements for the processing of personal information. The bill also makes provision for a regulator to provide for the issuing of codes of conduct to cover the handling of personal information.

ANC MP John Jefferies and his DA counterpart, Dene Smuts, defended the bill following concerns that journalism would be a victim of the legislation, because it also dealt with the gathering and dissemination of individuals’ information without their consent.

The proposed legislation states that the individual whose information is being processed has the right to know that this is being done and why.

Smuts said the legislation was “not an attack on media”.

One of the concerns was how it would threaten journalists who worked outside mainstream media, like bloggers and freelancers who did not fall under an industry code of conduct.

Smuts said the SA National Editors Forum had supported provisions exempting media “to the extent that they can prove that they belong to a professional body with a code of ethics”.

She said the bill had taken so long to be passed into law because of the more hyped Protection of State Information Bill, or so-called Secrecy Bill.

Smuts said she wanted the “entire exclusion” of the media.

The legislation will, however, clamp down on direct marketing companies that sell and pass on personal information. Jefferies agreed that the legislation might apply to online bloggers, but said people could approach the regulator with complaints. - Cape Argus

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