Link between Monitoring and Privacy

There is direct link between the concepts of “privacy” and “monitoring”.

Privacy

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996 (“the Constitution”) recognises the right to privacy in South Africa as a fundamental right in section 14.   It includes the right not to have the privacy of one’s communications infringed. The Constitutional Court has delivered several judgments on the right to privacy insofar as it relates to the possession of indecent or obscene photographs, child pornography, searches and seizures, and the criminalisation of prostitution and gambling.

Based on the aforementioned judgments of the Constitutional Court, it can be seen that the concept of “privacy” can be divided into separate but related parts.   For example, “bodily privacy” deals with the protection of one’s physical self against invasive procedures such as genetic tests, drug testing and cavity searches.   The “privacy of communications” covers the security and privacy of mail, telephones, e-mail and other forms of communication.   “Information privacy” involves the establishment of rules governing the collection and handling of personal data such as credit information and medical records.   This is also known as “data protection” (the issue of data privacy is currently being dealt with by the South African Law Commission which has published the Protection of Personal Information Bill (which is not yet law).

Workplace Privacy

Privacy in the workplace (so-called “workplace” privacy) would fall under the category of privacy of

Tags: Monitoring, privacy law, RICA