The Information Regulator of South Africa has published a guidance note on how political parties and individual candidates are to use voters’ personal information for campaigning purposes in the lead-up to the 2024 elections.
The updated guidance note also takes into account the allowance of independent candidates, and the increasing danger of compromise to personal information. It said the electorate should be aware of this to ensure the legal processing of their personal information.This, among other things, mandates that candidates must collect the data from voters themselves if they want to use their personal information.The solicitation of donations by electoral candidates falls under the definition of direct marketing according to the POPIA and will be treated accordingly.
The guidance note also states that electoral candidates are responsible for mitigating the spread of disinformation and misinformation by implementing the necessary policies and strategies to do so.