Who owns digital data about you? South African legal scholar weighs up property and privacy rights

By Donrich Thaldar, Professor, University of KwaZulu-Natal

In the digital economy, data is more than just information – it is an asset with immense economic and strategic value. Yet, despite its significance, a fundamental legal question remains unresolved: Can data be owned? While privacy laws worldwide focus on protecting individuals’ rights over their personal data, they often sidestep the issue of ownership. This has led to legal uncertainty, particularly in South Africa, where the Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia) grants data subjects various rights over their personal information…

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~	Serwah Attafuah: a powerful and most welcome voice in contemporary Australian art

~	Trump is surveying Australian academics about gender diversity and China – what does this mean for unis and their research?

~	Coalition promises Australian version of United States’ RICO act to target CFMEU

~	The story of Nepal's enigmatic rudraksha seeds through photos

~	Luxon meets Modi: why a ‘good’ NZ-India trade deal is preferable to a ‘perfect’ one

~	Hundreds of livestock breeds have gone extinct – but some Australian farmers are keeping endangered breeds alive

~	‘Unexpressed emotions will never die’: in Signs of Damage, Diana Reid explores the depths of the unconscious

~	Kenya: Release Inquiry on Bodies Found in Quarry

~	Australia has promised to end domestic violence within a generation. Jess Hill asks: are our strategies working?

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