The law relating to protection of data and personal information

Jooste, Cobus

Abstract

The legal meaning of data is wide, and refers to electronic representations of information in any form. The internet operates exclusively by way of providing access to and reproducing data. As a result, the possible range of information contained in data is limitless and the security threats to the integrity of data is equally wide. For these reasons, it is necessary that the legal protection of data should continue to develop in order to safeguard the interest of those who own or control data and the rights of those affected by data.

In this chapter, a selection of legal principles which regulate the rights in data and the protection thereof, are considered. In addition to the general data protection measures, those principles which seek to protect the most important type of data, namely personal information, are discussed below in order to identify the rights and duties of legal subjects who participate in data collection.

• Online Publication Date: Jun 1, 2022
• Publication Date: Jun 1, 2022
• Deposit Date: Apr 3, 2023
• Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
• Edition: 3
• Book Title: The Law of Commerce in South Africa
• Chapter Number: 17
• Keywords: data, personal information, law, technology, privacy
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10594272
• Publisher URL: https://www.oxford.co.za/book/9780190740313-the-law-of-commerce-in-south-africa-3e#.ZCRzwMrMI2w