Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (Act No. 4 of 2013)Chapter 2 : Application Provisions7. Exclusion for journalistic, literary or artistic purposes |
| (1) | This Act does not apply to the processing of personal information solely for the purpose of journalistic, literary or artistic expression to the extent that such an exclusion is necessary to reconcile, as a matter of public interest, the right to privacy with the right to freedom of expression. |
| (2) | Where a responsible party who processes personal information for exclusively journalistic purposes is, by virtue of office, employment or profession, subject to a code of ethics that provides adequate safeguards for the protection of personal information, such code will apply to the processing concerned to the exclusion of this Act and any alleged interference with the protection of the personal information of a data subject that may arise as a result of such processing must be adjudicated as provided for in terms of that code. |
| (3) | In the event that a dispute may arise in respect of whether adequate safeguards have been provided for in a code as required in terms of subsection (2) or not, regard may be had to— |
| (a) | the special importance of the public interest in freedom of expression; |
| (b) | domestic and international standards balancing the— |
| (i) | public interest in allowing for the free flow of information to the public through the media in recognition of the right of the public to be informed; and |
| (ii) | public interest in safeguarding the protection of personal information of data subjects; |
| (c) | the need to secure the integrity of personal information; |
| (d) | domestic and international standards of professional integrity for journalists; and |
| (e) | the nature and ambit of self-regulatory forms of supervision provided by the profession. |