1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:03,320 Speaker 1: So the South African Information Regulator is finalizing a code 2 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:08,719 Speaker 1: of conduct on how complexes, estates and gated communities process 3 00:00:08,880 --> 00:00:12,480 Speaker 1: the private data of visitors upon arrival. That's going to 4 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:15,400 Speaker 1: be happening. Well, that's happened now by the end of March. 5 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:18,960 Speaker 1: It came into effect by the end of March. I mean, 6 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:22,360 Speaker 1: if you're anything like me, then whenever you visit someone 7 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:25,920 Speaker 1: in their complex or their state, then you sometimes wonder, 8 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:29,560 Speaker 1: after whipping out your license and having it scanned, that 9 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:32,440 Speaker 1: what are they doing with this personal information? And is 10 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:35,600 Speaker 1: it safe? And that's really what this move is all about. 11 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:39,120 Speaker 1: Joining me for that conversation is Marina Constas, who is 12 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:43,120 Speaker 1: a specialist sectional title lawyer at BBM Law. Marina, thank 13 00:00:43,159 --> 00:00:45,919 Speaker 1: you so much for your time, Thank you so much 14 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 1: for joining us. 15 00:00:47,159 --> 00:00:48,760 Speaker 2: Thank you comch so nice to be here. 16 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:53,120 Speaker 1: Look, the first question really that came to mind for me, Marina, 17 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:58,960 Speaker 1: is I mean, are complexes, estates and gated communities allowed 18 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:01,720 Speaker 1: to ask for this personal information in the first place? 19 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:04,680 Speaker 1: And we've normalized it so much, but is it something 20 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:08,319 Speaker 1: that they're allowed by law to do? Yes? 21 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:11,800 Speaker 2: So I think you know, the act of getting driver's 22 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:15,920 Speaker 2: licenses scanned actually started opening up a wide range of 23 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:21,880 Speaker 2: puppy violations Protection of Personal Information Act violations because that 24 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:25,679 Speaker 2: Act says that if you hand over personal information, you 25 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:29,840 Speaker 2: need to understand how that information is stored and you 26 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:32,720 Speaker 2: know when it will be deleted. You can't just have 27 00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:36,520 Speaker 2: your personal information and not understand the purpose for handing 28 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:42,280 Speaker 2: it over and why it's necessary. So already the Information 29 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:47,640 Speaker 2: Regulator started proactively developing this sector code. As far as 30 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:51,360 Speaker 2: I'm aware, there's no confirm publication yet in the government gazette, 31 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:54,520 Speaker 2: but as it will be a binding code certainly under 32 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 2: the Act, and it's aimded sectional title units, at homeowners associations, 33 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:03,080 Speaker 2: commercial of an industrial parks and wherever there's a team 34 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 2: or security team controlling entry or access. So the point 35 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:09,360 Speaker 2: of it is, yes, it will be allowed, but the 36 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:11,240 Speaker 2: rules that are going to come out are things like 37 00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:16,359 Speaker 2: only minimum necessary information is to be collected, and at 38 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:18,920 Speaker 2: the entrance of your scheme there's got to be a 39 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:22,400 Speaker 2: notice saying what the purpose is and on what basis 40 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:24,720 Speaker 2: are you collecting it. You know, no longer these old 41 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:28,200 Speaker 2: sort of awful visitors books going to be allowed, where 42 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:30,880 Speaker 2: they can just leave the book lying open. The gods 43 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 2: can leave the book lying open in the guard house. 44 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:35,320 Speaker 2: You're going to have to look as a scheme at 45 00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:39,480 Speaker 2: some sort of secure access control system where all this 46 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 2: digital encryption is available on you know, so that the 47 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:48,960 Speaker 2: deletion is automated, automated, and then that's that's going to 48 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 2: be how you comply with the puppy regulations. 49 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:54,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, okay, and that's really what I wanted to ask about, 50 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:57,360 Speaker 1: just the details of this of this code of conduct 51 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:01,280 Speaker 1: from what I'm hearing, So it's going to cover what 52 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:03,920 Speaker 1: type of information is collected, but also it's going to 53 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 1: be covering how it's stored and processed, yes, exactly. 54 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 2: And trustees and directors would be held accountable if you 55 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:17,400 Speaker 2: don't have this in place. So you need to also 56 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:21,800 Speaker 2: update the guarding contracts with the security company as a 57 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 2: body corporate or a homeowners association so that you can 58 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 2: see that all of this is covered. Everything to do 59 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:32,040 Speaker 2: with poppy is in this contract. Also, every complex, in 60 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:36,040 Speaker 2: terms of the community scheme onbit service directors has to 61 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:40,040 Speaker 2: have a POPPY policy in place. So that policy you 62 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:43,040 Speaker 2: can just take the policy out and have it to 63 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:45,560 Speaker 2: somebody who wants to know what you're doing with that information. 64 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:48,920 Speaker 2: But this policy is not enough. You actually need to 65 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 2: notice our people at the entrances of exactly what you're 66 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:54,240 Speaker 2: doing with it. And as I said, it should be 67 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:58,040 Speaker 2: a cloud based kind of solution and you need to 68 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:02,160 Speaker 2: be Yeah, you need to be compliant. And this includes biometrics, 69 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:05,520 Speaker 2: CCTV cameras. What are they using it for? You can 70 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:07,680 Speaker 2: have a camera at the entrance, but I need to 71 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 2: understand what you're using it for. And it seems obvious 72 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:14,560 Speaker 2: that it's security. But we need to make these things 73 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:16,720 Speaker 2: as clere as possible to be compliant. 74 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:22,679 Speaker 1: And does this mean that you know these complexes and estates, 75 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 1: gated communities, are they going to be forced to go 76 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:26,400 Speaker 1: digital now? 77 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:30,440 Speaker 2: I think so, yes. I do think so, because that's 78 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:34,160 Speaker 2: the easiest way to actually show that you are compliant. 79 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:38,560 Speaker 2: I don't think that anything in writing is particularly secure 80 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:42,880 Speaker 2: at all. You know, anything can be you can misuse 81 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:45,400 Speaker 2: if somebody can take it, take it home with them 82 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:48,640 Speaker 2: and use it for other purposes. I definitely think that 83 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:52,920 Speaker 2: it's going to need to be digit become digital and 84 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:58,360 Speaker 2: certainly automated. I suppose if you have a complex where 85 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:01,680 Speaker 2: you know you can't afford to digitize, then you need 86 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:03,919 Speaker 2: to put your minds to other kind of systems. But 87 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:06,599 Speaker 2: you'd have to be able to explain to people what 88 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:09,880 Speaker 2: you're doing with their information, how long it's been stored for, 89 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:13,120 Speaker 2: and you need to only get the minimum information. You 90 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:16,280 Speaker 2: kind of long queues at these gates with somebody writing 91 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:19,680 Speaker 2: out every single you know, part of their history. It's 92 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:22,080 Speaker 2: got to be short and sharp, and I think that 93 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:24,440 Speaker 2: will really benefit our industry tremendously. 94 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:28,400 Speaker 1: And when are these laws expected to come into effect? 95 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:31,520 Speaker 2: Well, they did say thirty first of March was the 96 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 2: date when these codes would come out. I haven't seen 97 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:40,280 Speaker 2: anything yet in terms of publication, but yeah, I think 98 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:42,719 Speaker 2: it's imminent. It really is imminent. They've been working very 99 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:46,560 Speaker 2: hard on it, Homoso, So let's see. I think managing 100 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:49,640 Speaker 2: agents or what I call community asset managers should start 101 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:54,400 Speaker 2: getting prepared for the onslaught of you know, of queries. 102 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:57,720 Speaker 2: And also I think it's important for complexes to train 103 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:00,960 Speaker 2: their guards at the entrances so that if people do 104 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:04,240 Speaker 2: ask that they do understand what's going on possibly and 105 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:07,640 Speaker 2: this can hand them a document or maybe you know, 106 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:11,560 Speaker 2: they can just explain exactly what they're doing with in 107 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:13,080 Speaker 2: a very brief kind of format. 108 00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:16,440 Speaker 1: Obviously, all right, Marina Constace, thank you so much for 109 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:19,480 Speaker 1: your time. She's a specialist Sectional Tide for Lawyer at 110 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:22,120 Speaker 1: BBM Lord. It's an important development in law that's coming 111 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:25,800 Speaker 1: into effect, particularly around the use and the safekeeping of 112 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:29,000 Speaker 1: personal information. It's definitely a story to keep your eye on.