Ernst Roets (Photo: Provided)
Lex Libertas in an open letter to Dr. Interior Minister Leon Schreiber called for the department’s proposed digital identity regulations to be withdrawn until serious questions about the system’s security, feasibility and impact on civil liberties are answered.
Also read: Pressure group raises alarm over AI-driven population register
The proposed system forms part of the department’s broader Intelligent Population Register (IPR) plan to modernize South Africa’s population register and identity management. The digital ID will enable citizens to verify their identity electronically by means of a central digital platform linked to biometric data. The government argues that the system can combat fraud, improve service delivery and simplify administrative processes.
However, Lex Libertas warns that the system extends much further than simply a modern identity document. According to the organization, the regulations could lay the foundation for a centralized database in which every digital identity verification is recorded and preserved for at least seven years. This means that an extensive digital record of citizens’ interactions, movements and transactions can potentially be built up.
According to dr. Ernst Roets, executive director of Lex Libertas, is asking South Africans not to entrust their most personal information to a state that is already struggling with serious IT failures, data security problems and low public trust.
Lex Libertas argues that international experience shows that similar digital ID systems often start out as voluntary programs, but over time become essential for accessing banking services, social benefits, jobs and other essential services. The organization warns that citizens who do not have access to the technology may end up being excluded.
The organization further refers to examples in countries such as India, Kenya, Estonia and Singapore where, according to them, digital identity systems have already experienced security risks, technical problems or so-called “function expansion” – where the use of the system is later expanded to purposes for which it was not originally intended.
“The proposed regulations will grant wide discretionary powers to the director-general of internal affairs,” says Roets. According to Lex Libertas, this creates the risk of concentration of power and possible misuse of personal data.
The group therefore calls for the regulations in their current form to be withdrawn until there is greater public debate, stronger privacy guarantees and clearer restrictions on the use of citizens’ data.
These objections join similar criticisms raised earlier this year by the civil rights group Free SA.
Also read: Pressure group raises alarm over AI-driven population register
Free SA has warned that the department’s proposed Intelligent Population Register (IPR), which combines artificial intelligence, biometric technology and digital identity verification, risks expanding state control and further marginalizing vulnerable South Africans who lack digital access. According to this organization, the system without sufficient independent oversight and legal protection can lead to uncontrolled surveillance and the misuse of personal data.