Section 26 of the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) states that special personal information relates to a data subject’s criminal behaviour, trade union membership, health or sex life, religious or philosophical beliefs, political persuasion or biometric information.
Section 26 further states that a responsible party may not process a data subject’s special personal information unless one or more of the following exceptions are present as per Section 27 of POPIA:
- If the data subject has consented to such processing;
- The processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of a right or obligation in law;
- Where the processing is necessary to comply with an obligation of international public law;
- The processing is for historical, statistical, or research purposes to such an extent that the purpose serves a public interest and the processing is necessary for that purpose or asking for consent would be impossible or entail a disproportionate effort and that there have been sufficient guarantees provided ensuring the data subject’s individual privacy has not been affected;
- If the information has deliberately been made public by the data subject or;
- The provisions as per sections 28 to 33 have been complied with.
Therefore, when dealing with a data subject’s special personal information, businesses must be vigilant when processing such information.
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