Metadata and privacy regulation in SA is on its way
The concern is that metadata can reveal sensitive and personal information about a user, such as their tastes, habits and day-to-day activities
In the EU, metadata is a known data privacy problem. The question in the SA context is whether companies and regulators are sensitive to what metadata is, what its implications are, and why it is relevant in the data privacy regulatory space. And are any regulatory changes anticipated in light of international developments?
Metadata, as the name suggests, refers to data concerning other data. Examples include the information that relates to an electronic file, such as the time at which the file or document was created, the identity of the author who created the file, where or how the file was created, and so forth. Historically, this area of data privacy law has been left largely unregulated. However, more recently, likely owing to greater awareness of the potential risks it may pose if abused, there has been a considerable drive towards the regulation of metadata...
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