The impact of the RICA amendments

The amendments to the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act (RICA) has made media headlines over the past few weeks, predominantly from angry consumers who feel that privacy will be invaded and from the onerous obligations it imposes on the mobile cellular operators.

However, Tebogo Mthiyane at Werksmans Incorporating Jan S. de Villiers says that while the focus has been on the mobile cellular operators and the consumers, RICA also places numerous obligations on employers who provide mobile phones and SIM cards to their employees, who will also have to comply with some provisions of RICA - something that should be on the corporate agenda.

According to RICA, before an employer hands a SIM card (cellphone) over to an employee, it must:

• Record the date and period for which the SIM is provided;
  
• Record the Mobile Subscriber Integrated Service Digital Network number of the SIM card (the cell phone number);
  
• Provide full names and surname, identity document and at least
  one address of the employee concerned, and in the case of an employee who is not a South African citizen or who is not permanently resident in South Africa, the country where the employee's passport was issued; and
  
• Verify this information with reference to the relevant document.

Mthiyane notes that this will not only be an administrative minefield for employers, but will require a significant amount of time and effort to gather and verify the data. In addition, do employers need to make provisions for the storage of the data, and if so, what are the implications?