Munetsi v Madhuyu and Another involves the disclosure of personal information on social media without consent. The applicant sued the respondents to stop sharing his personal information online. He also requested a public apology and punitive costs. The court ordered that the respondents remove all media and the applicant’s personal information from their social platforms.

Who should care about this judgment and why?

  • Anyone who uses and shares personal information online. It is important to be cautious about the personal information you disclose on social media and other online platforms. This includes personal information other individuals, too. This case provides guidance for people who have been affected by having their personal information published on social media without their consent.
  • Organisations that collect and processes personal information should be aware of the requirements of the POPIA and the potential consequences of non-compliance. This judgment may influence the policies and practices of social media platforms regarding the removal of harmful content and the protection of user privacy.

What could you do about it?

  • Get clear and informed consent from the affected data subject before you publish personal information on social media and other online platforms. This also applies to organisations that collect and process personal information of data subjects.
  • Implement robust security measures by reviewing privacy settings on social media accounts to limit who can see your information.
  • Think before you post. Ask yourself if the media you are posting contains personal information or sensitive information.
  • Organisations should review and adjust their privacy polices to ensure that data subjects are informed of their rights to access, collect, and delete their personal information. If a data and privacy breach occurs, organisations should promptly report it to the Information Regulator and affected data subjects.

Our insights

This judgment illustrates how easily it is to be found non-compliant in terms of POPIA. It underscores how vulnerable personal information can be in the digital age. A simple click of a button can inadvertently or maliciously lead to the unauthorised dissemination of sensitive data. This highlights the need for organisations and individuals to be vigilant in protecting personal information and ensuring compliance with data privacy laws like POPIA.

Section 11 of POPIA explicitly prohibits the unlawful processing of personal information, including its dissemination. This reinforces the principle that data subjects have a fundamental right to control the flow of their personal information. Moreover, it’s a reminder that organisations must obtain explicit consent from individuals before collecting and processing their personal data and take measures to prevent unauthorised disclosure.

Digest

Facts

The applicant sought an urgent interdict to stop the respondents from broadcasting his personal information and defamatory material online. The respondents opposed the application and counterclaimed for damages and an order prohibiting the applicant from contacting them.

Reasoning

The court found that the respondents’ publication of the applicant’s cell phone number on social media infringed his right to privacy under POPIA. It also found that while some of the allegations made against the applicant in the video were defamatory, others were not.

It is held that disclosing someone else’s personal cell phone number on social media with many followers and asking people to call that person to help the publisher violates the person’s right to privacy. Even if the cell phone number was already public somewhere else, this doesn’t excuse the violation of privacy.

The court granted the interdict, ordering the respondents to remove the video and stop broadcasting the applicant’s personal information. However, the court did not grant the applicant’s request for a public apology or punitive costs.

Order

  • The court grants the applicant permission to file this case as urgent.
  • The court orders the respondents to delete the video, the applicant’s photo, and his phone number from all social media platforms.
  • The court orders the respondents to stop sharing the applicant’s personal information without his permission.
  • The respondents are ordered to pay the costs of the application.

Details of Munetsi v Madhuyu and Another

Universal citation: [2024] ZAWCHC 209

Case number: 16255/2024

Full name: Munetsi v Madhuyu and Another (16255/2024) [2024] ZAWCHC 209 (6 August 2024)