Asymmetry in South Africa’s Regulation of Customer Data Protection: Unequal Treatment between Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Over-the-Top (OTT) Service Providers

Stanley Shanapinda
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Abstract

This article examines the asymmetry that currently exists in South Africa in the regulatory treatment of customer data usage by mobile network operators (MNOs) and over-the-top (OTT) service providers. MNOs and OTTs must receive customer “consent”, in terms of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI Act) and its Regulations, before sharing the customer’s “personal information” with a third party. But MNOs have an additional requirement to meet, in terms of the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act (RICA), which is not applicable to OTTs: a requirement whereby a customer must provide “written authorisation” to an MNO before the MNO can share “communication-related information which relates to the customer con cerned” with a third party. In this article, I examine and analyse provisions of the POPI Act, POPI Act Regulations, RICA, other relevant legislation, court decisions, records of a Parliamentary hearing, the standard terms and conditions and privacy policies of two South African MNOs (Vodacom and MTN), and two international OTT service providers (Google and Facebook). Based on the analysis, I argue that the unequal regulatory treatment between the MNOs and OTTs, if allowed to persist, threatens to undermine the growth of key elements of South Africa’s digital economy.
南非对客户数据保护监管的不对称:移动网络运营商(MNOs)和OTT服务提供商之间的不平等待遇
本文考察了南非目前在移动网络运营商(MNOs)和OTT服务提供商对客户数据使用的监管处理中存在的不对称性。在与第三方共享客户的“个人信息”之前,根据个人信息保护法(POPI法案)及其法规,mno和ott必须获得客户的“同意”。但是,根据《通信拦截和提供通信相关信息法案》(RICA)的规定,移动网络运营商还有一个额外的要求需要满足,这一要求不适用于ott:客户必须向移动网络运营商提供“书面授权”,移动网络运营商才能与第三方共享“与客户有关的通信相关信息”。在本文中,我研究和分析了POPI法案的规定,POPI法案条例,RICA,其他相关立法,法院判决,议会听证会记录,两个南非移动运营商(Vodacom和MTN)的标准条款和条件以及隐私政策,以及两个国际OTT服务提供商(b谷歌和Facebook)。基于分析,我认为mno和ott之间的不平等监管待遇,如果允许持续下去,可能会破坏南非数字经济关键要素的增长。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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