Access Alert: National Data and Cloud Policy South Africa

Access Alert: National Data and Cloud Policy South Africa

The South African government has released a draft Data and Cloud Policy for public comment. The policy was drafted by the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies and aims to guide localised data acquisition, ownership, storage, use, and analytics. To achieve these objectives, the state will be creating digital transformation and processing centres, as well as a digital infrastructure company, to monitor the sector more closely.

This new policy reflects the Government’s growing unease around the ownership of data generated in the country by private “mega technological digital companies.”  Consequently, and of concern, the policy allows the South African government ownership of all data generated in the country, irrespective of where a company operating in the country is domiciled. In addition, any private data deemed to be important to the state must be shared with the Government.

The state also wishes to promote the growth of local companies so that they have a fair and equitable chance of competing with their global counterparts, thus competition law will be reviewed to address concerns around dominance and anti-competitive behaviour in the data and cloud environment.

At Access Partnership, we can help your company respond to the draft policy as well as create an engagement strategy around specific areas of concern with this policy and forthcoming legislation and regulation. For more information, please contact Melissa Govender.

Related Articles

Why the concern about telecom operator finances?

Why the concern about telecom operator finances?

Introduction There have been calls over the last few months for a “fair share tax” – an argument that the...

7 Jun 2023 Opinion
Is Advanced Air Mobility the future of air transportation?

Is Advanced Air Mobility the future of air transportation?

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) refers to the next generation of aviation systems that aim to revolutionise the way people and...

6 Jun 2023 Opinion
Google’s Impact in Australia: Building a Stronger Digital Future

Google’s Impact in Australia: Building a Stronger Digital Future

Impact in Australia: Building a Stronger Digital Future Digital technology can help address current national challenges by boosting productivity and...

5 Jun 2023 Opinion
Access Alert: Saudi Arabia’s Cloud Computing Special Economic Zone

Access Alert: Saudi Arabia’s Cloud Computing Special Economic Zone

Background The Economic Cities and Special Zones Authority (ECZA), in partnership with the Saudi Program for Attracting Regional Headquarters of...

5 Jun 2023 Opinion