A company or individual shares personal information with third parties without authorisation.
Premiumintermediate8 minutes
The Situation
What They Said
“We shared your contact details with our partners — it is in our terms and conditions.”
A company discloses personal data — phone numbers, email addresses, financial details — to third parties, citing broad terms and conditions that the user never meaningfully agreed to.
The Fallacy
Buried Consent in Terms and Conditions
Consent buried in lengthy terms and conditions — particularly when it is not clearly brought to a user's attention — is not meaningful consent under South African data protection law. POPIA requires that consent be specific, informed, and freely given. A blanket clause in fine print authorising unlimited data sharing with unnamed 'partners' does not meet this standard. The sophistication of the legal document does not excuse the violation of the consent principle.
What the Law Says
Your Legal Foundation
Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013
Section 11 — Grounds for processing personal information
“Personal information may only be processed if the data subject consents to the processing... Consent must be a voluntary, specific and informed expression of will.”
Consent buried in generic terms and conditions is not 'specific and informed.' Sharing data with third parties under such a clause may be unlawful.
Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013
Section 23 — Objection to processing
“A data subject may, at any time, object to the processing of personal information... on grounds relating to his, her or its particular situation.”
You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data — even if you originally consented. The company must stop unless it has compelling grounds.
Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013
Section 74 — Complaints to Information Regulator
“Any person may submit a complaint to the Information Regulator regarding interference with the protection of the personal information of a data subject.”
The Information Regulator is the enforcement body for POPIA violations. Complaints can be lodged online.
What Scripture Says
God's Word on This
Luke 16:10 (NET)
“The one who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and the one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.”
The way an organisation handles small pieces of personal information reveals its character. An organisation that treats consent as a formality to be gamed — rather than a trust to be honoured — demonstrates a deeper problem with integrity.
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