Should people pay to protect their online privacy, or should they accept that their personal information is used for targeted advertising and other data processing? A legal scholar at Stellenbosch University says the so-called pay-or-consent model could raise important questions in South Africa about privacy, consumer protection and the power of large digital platforms.
Zinhle Novazi, a lecturer in the department of commercial law at Stellenbosch University, has investigated how South African legislation would handle such a model. The model typically offers users a choice between consenting to more extensive processing of their personal information and a paid option where certain data processing does not occur.
Novazi examined, among other things, Meta's similar approach on Facebook and Instagram in Europe and how Popia, consumer and competition law in South Africa would respond to it. According to Novazi, the key question is not merely whether a platform may charge for access, but whether users genuinely have a free choice. A person who does not want their data made available for certain purposes could feel pressured to give consent, for example because of the cost of a subscription or the loss of access to an established online network. She points out that South Africa already has legislation that protects personal information and consumer rights, but that in her view there are not enough clear rules about how pay-or-consent models should be specifically regulated. She believes greater cooperation between the Information Regulator, the Competition Commission and other relevant authorities may be necessary.
According to Novazi, the European Union's approach offers potential lessons for South Africa. European case law has examined, among other things, when personal data is truly necessary for the delivery of a service and whether consent is genuinely voluntary when a user is dealing with a dominant platform. Novazi believes South Africa should develop clearer guidelines so that users can refuse unnecessary data processing without necessarily losing access to a core service. She warns that privacy could otherwise become a benefit available mainly to people who can afford to protect their online privacy.
The research, titled Privacy For Sale? The Legality of the Pay-or-Consent Model in South Africa, was published in December 2025 in the Stellenbosch Law Review .
Photo: Zinhle Novazi – Legal scholar, Stellenbosch University
This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
