By 
By Ross Moyo
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) has highlighted the importance of balancing journalistic privilege with data protection in the digital age. Speaking at a Data Protection pworkshop on the Cyber and Data Protection Act (CDPA), #ifyoumustcollectthedataprotectthedata hosted by Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) at Golden Conifer in Strathaven, Harare, Marlven Mukudu, Advocacy Officer at MISA, emphasized the need for journalists to understand the three pillars of journalistic privilege, data protection, and abuse of platforms.
“Journalistic privilege is not a blanket protection, it comes with responsibilities,” Mukudu said. “Journalists must verify information and ensure that it is accurate and in the public interest.”
The workshop highlighted the different contexts and status of individuals, including private citizens, public officials, celebrities, and vulnerable persons. Each category has different expectations of privacy and levels of public interest scrutiny.
For private citizens, there is a high expectation of privacy and limited public interest scrutiny. In contrast, public officials have a reduced expectation of privacy and high public interest scrutiny.
Mukudu emphasized that journalistic privilege should not protect falsehoods presented as fact. “The line is crossed when information is published without reasonable verification, corrections are refused despite clear evidence of error, and harm is caused by negligently false reporting,” he said.
The Southern African context was also discussed, with Mukudu highlighting that most SADC constitutions guarantee both freedom of expression and privacy. Countries such as South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Botswana have laws that limit these rights in certain circumstances.
MISA is working to promote responsible journalism practices and ensure that journalists understand their rights and responsibilities in the digital age.
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