THE PROTECTOR OF SA'S INFORMATION

As head of the Information Regulator, Pansy Tlakula is determined to safeguard citizens' private details

-  LESEGO SEOKWANG

SHE often refuses to have her licence disc scanned when she enters a gated community - much to the annoyance of security guards.

But as the head of the Information Regulator (IR) of South Africa, Pansy Tlakula knows better than to expose her personal information carelessly.

"One of the problems we have in this country is the rate at which personal information is collected unnecessarily, she tells YOU when we meet at her office in Braamfontein, a stone's throw from the Johannesburg CBD.

She's not one to pull rank, but in some instances she's been forced to disclose her designation to protect her information from being collected.

"One of the things the protection of personal information act says is that anyone who collects personal information must collect only the minimum information they need for the purpose for which they want to use it," Pansy says.

"They scan your licence disc, it has your ID, your home address... and after that, we don't know what happens to that personal information. That's why there are so many data breaches in South Africa."

Pansy (65) knows what she's talking about. For the past six years, she's been at the helm of the IR, an independent body that monitors and enforces compliance with the promotion of access to information act (Paia) and the protection of public information act (Popia).

Her office is swamped with complaints - they receive at least 500 notifications of data violations from the public every three months.

In the latest data breach, FNB exposed the personal information of customers applying for home loans on their banking app during a glitch in February.

There have been other breaches too: in 2022, three million South Africans had their information compromised when credit-reporting company TransUnion was hacked.