Examining the relationship between national security and the individual citizen’s right to privacy in South Africa between 1994 and 2021

Abstract

The aim of this qualitative study is to attempt to characterise the complex relationship that exists between the individual’s right to privacy and the state’s national security in democratic South Africa. Arguably, the root of the complex relationship between these two concepts is caused by the inherent tensions that exist between the government’s responsibility to ensure national security and the citizens’ right to their own privacy. Ultimately, technological advancements, particularly those that have enabled increased mass surveillance by governments, have caused the relationship between the state and citizens to change. This is because of, inter alia, government access to mass information as well as the monitoring of the private activities of citizens, leading to threats to civil liberties, notably, the right to privacy. South Africa is used as a case study to contextualise the causes and implications of the complex relationship between privacy and national security using the social contract theory. The study finds that technology has led to mass surveillance being used to ensure national security. However, this has led to tension between the individual’s right to privacy and national security. The study concludes by characterising the relationship between national security and the individual’s right to privacy and provides recommendations that will hopefully add to the growing literature on matters of privacy and national security.