Statement: RICA has failed to protect our right to privacy!
On Wednesday, 19 February 2020, R2K will picket outside the National Communications Centre in Pretoria and outside the National Parliament in Cape Town to highlight the fact that the RICA law has failed to protect citizens’ constitutional right to privacy.
On Monday, 24 February 2020, we will be joining amaBhungane at the Constitutional Court with Privacy International as amici curiae (friends of the court) where the Minister of State Security has appealed the North Gauteng High Court judgement that found parts of South Africa’s surveillance law, RICA unconstitutional and invalid (see statement here). The Minister of Police has also appealed order 1 of the judgement on post surveillance notification. According to the Minister of Police, RICA is in line with other foreign jurisdiction, particularly the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the European Union. The Constitutional Court will determine whether to admit the Ministers’ appeal, and whether to hear the direct appeal on bulk surveillance.
We remain convinced the high court judgement will be upheld and that the constitutional court will make a determination even on one of the areas that we felt the high court erred in deciding on, which is the gathering of and arbitrary use of metadata by service providers and we will be making arguments to the constitutional court to make a pronouncement on this.
RICA’s requirement that telecommunication users’ metadata – information about when, where, how and with whom they communicate – be stored for years is a massive and systemic violation of the rights of all South Africans who use digital communication. In this case, the state has asserted that it has the power to mandate telecommunications providers to store metadata about South Africans’ phone calls, SMSes, emails, and internet activity for up to five years. This includes the location from which those communications were made and the subject lines of emails which often indicate the content of the message.
In 2016, the United Nations Human Rights Committee issued a strong condemnation of South Africa’s surveillance capabilities and the RICA law. According to the Committee, South Africa’s communications surveillance capabilities are untransparent, open to abuse, and a major threat to human rights in South Africa.
As R2K, we strongly believe that RICA has failed to protect citizens’ constitutional right to privacy.
PICKET DETAILS:
GAUTENG: The National Communications Centre
35 Lynburn Rd, Lynnwood Manor, Pretoria
Date: 19 – 02 – 2020
Time: 10AM – 1PM
WESTERN CAPE: Parliament of Republic of South Africa
Parliament Street, Cape Town
Date: 19 – 02 – 2020
Time: 1PM – 4PM
Stand up to the abuse of power!
Ongazi Makazi!
Fix Rica Now!
For more information contact:
Thami Nkosi, R2K Countering Repression Focus Organiser: 062 624 5992
Ntombi Tshabalala, R2K Gauteng Organiser: 082 710 3138
Nomacebo Mbayo, R2K Western Cape Organiser: 078 762 6013
