Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      New platform helps homeowners avoid delays in property sales

      17 June 2025

      Vodacom CEO Joosub bags R71m in pay – but taxman will take a big cut

      17 June 2025

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025

      Major rift opens between Microsoft and OpenAI

      17 June 2025

      The little-known company disrupting Eskom’s monopoly

      16 June 2025
    • World

      Samsung plots health data hub to link users and doctors in real time

      17 June 2025

      Yahoo tries to make its mail service relevant again

      13 June 2025

      Qualcomm shows off new chip for AI smart glasses

      11 June 2025

      Trump tariffs to dim 2025 smartphone shipments

      4 June 2025

      Shrimp Jesus and the AI ad invasion

      4 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025

      South Africa unveils big state digital reform programme

      12 May 2025

      Is this the end of Google Search as we know it?

      12 May 2025
    • TCS

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025

      TCS | Sentiv, and the story behind the buyout of Altron Nexus

      3 June 2025

      TCS | Signal restored: Unpacking the Blue Label and Cell C turnaround

      28 May 2025
    • Opinion

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025

      Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

      29 May 2025

      Solar panic? The truth about SSEG, fines and municipal rules

      14 April 2025

      Data protection must be crypto industry’s top priority

      9 April 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » News » SA authorities bypassing Rica for call records

    SA authorities bypassing Rica for call records

    By Staff Reporter23 August 2017
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp

    Government accesses the call records of more than 70 000 phone numbers in South Africa per year, according to the Right2Know Campaign, citing statistics from Vodacom, MTN, Cell C and Telkom.

    “These numbers show that, at a minimum, law enforcement agencies are spying on the communications of at least 70 000 phone numbers each year,” Right2Know said in a statement on Wednesday.

    The organisation asked the four big telecommunications operators in May how many warrants they receive in terms of section 205 of the Criminal Procedures Act. “These requests aimed to understand how a legal loophole has allowed surveillance operations to take place using the Criminal Procedures Act, rather than the Rica law.”

    Any magistrate can issue a warrant that forces telecoms companies to give over a customer’s call records and metadata

    Right2Know said section 205 allows law enforcement officials to bypass Rica, which requires a special judge to agree, to get access to get phone records showing who users have communicated with, when, and where.

    “According to this law, any magistrate can issue a warrant that forces telecoms companies to give over a customer’s call records and metadata,” the organisation said.

    “Policymakers are wrong to assume this information is less sensitive or private than the contents of the communication: metadata can reveal as much, if not more, about a person’s contacts, interests and habits than what they say over the phone or in a text message.”

    When a person’s communications information is handed over using section 205, they are never notified, even if the investigation is dropped or if they are found to be innocent, it said.

    Rica

    “Rica is meant to be South Africa’s primary surveillance law. It requires law enforcement and intelligence agencies to get the permission of a special judge, appointed by the president, to intercept a person’s communications.

    “To apply for this warrant, they need to provide strong reasons because such interceptions threaten people’s right to privacy so much. But policymakers have wrongly assumed that the information about the communication (such as the identity of who you have communicated with, when, and your location) is less sensitive than the content of the communication.”

    Due to “incomplete records” (only Vodacom and Telkom could say how many phone numbers were contained in the warrants it received), the actual number is estimated to be much higher than 70 000, Right2Know said.

    These statistics confirm for the first time that the vast majority of ‘authorised’ surveillance operations are happening outside of the Rica judge’s oversight

    In 2016, MTN received 23 762 warrants for customers’ call records, while Vodacom got 18 594 warrants, Cell C 6 455 and Telkom 1 271.

    The most recent statistics from the Rica judge’s office show that in 2014/2015, the judge issued 760 warrants for interception. At a minimum, in the same year magistrates issued 25 808 warrants in terms of the Criminal Procedures Act.

    “These statistics confirm for the first time that the vast majority of ‘authorised’ surveillance operations are happening outside of the Rica judge’s oversight, with no transparency or accountability,” Right2Know said. “Urgent reforms are needed for South Africa’s surveillance policies.”

    The organisation wants:

    • Call records to be given better protection. Metadata about communication (information about who was contacted, when and where) must be given the same level of protection as the content of communication. Interception of this information should only be authorised by a specially appointed judge with special insight on privacy protections and digital rights. The Rica judge is a specialist judge who must be specially positioned to weigh the interests of justice against the right to privacy. Magistrates and ordinary judges, on the other hand, may not be as sensitised to the privacy issues involved in deciding whether to release metadata records. This should not be authorised at the lower levels of our court system. The section 205 loophole should be closed immediately.
    • An end to mass storage of customers’ data. Rica requires telecoms companies and Internet service providers to store all users’ metadata, including websites visited, for three to five years. This means even people who are not suspected of any crime are already being treated with suspicion.
    • An end to Sim card registration. This violates privacy in that it limits the ability of citizens to communicate anonymously. It also facilitates the tracking and monitoring of all users by law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
    • Greater transparency. Private companies should be publishing regular, detailed transparency reports about their role in interceptions, and the Rica judge must publish a much more detailed report, and it must be tabled in open parliament.
    • Users to be notified when their data has been intercepted. This is a legal requirement of many surveillance laws across the world. The current situation is ripe for abuse, as people who are targeted for surveillance have no way of knowing that their rights have been violated. Only under exceptional circumstances should the judge have the power to delay notifying a user that their data has been intercepted.

    “The Right2Know Campaign will not relent on challenging surveillance abuses. The people of South Africa can and will take back control of their privacy,” it said.  — © 2017 NewsCentral Media



    Cell C MTN Right2Know Right2Know Campaign Telkom top Vodacom
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleWe’re sorry, here’s 500MB: Vodacom
    Next Article Naspers smashes through R3 000/share

    Related Posts

    Vodacom CEO Joosub bags R71m in pay – but taxman will take a big cut

    17 June 2025

    TechCentral Nexus S0E2: South Africa’s digital battlefield

    16 June 2025

    MVNO boom is reshaping South Africa’s mobile market

    12 June 2025
    Company News

    7 benefits of social media integration in WordPress

    17 June 2025

    Paratus Zimbabwe and PowerTel strike milestone deal

    17 June 2025

    Huawei Watch Fit 4 Series: smarter sensors, sharper design, stronger performance

    13 June 2025
    Opinion

    Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

    2 June 2025

    South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

    2 June 2025

    Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

    29 May 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.