SAMF WEBSITE AND APP PRIVACY POLICY

Last updated: February 2024
  1. Introduction
The right to privacy and this privacy "Policy" is important to us. The University of Cape Town is a university incorporated in terms of the Higher Education Act, 1997, and the statute of the University of Cape Town, promulgated under Government Notice No. 1199 of 20 September 2002, as amended, having its principal place of business at Bremner Building, Lovers Walk, Rondebosch, 7700, Cape Town, South Africa ("UCT"). The Platform (defined below) is made available by UCT in partnership with the South African Medical Association (registration number 1927/000136/08) ("SAMA"). In this Policy, we also refer to UCT and SAMA as "us" or "we". We are committed to taking steps to protect your privacy when we process your personal information. We therefore implement business practices that comply with applicable data protection laws, including the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 ("POPIA"). This Policy applies to all processing of personal information by UCT and SAMA when you use the South African Medicines Formulary ("SAMF") app, which is available for purchase and download via the Google Play Store and Apple iStore ("App"), and the SAMF website, at https://samf-app.web.app/ ("Website"). In this Policy, we refer to the App and Website collectively as the "Platform".
Where we refer to "Personal Information" in this Policy, we mean personal information as defined in POPIA, being information that may be used to directly or indirectly identify you. Personal Information includes, for example, a data subject's name, surname, email address, identity number (or company registration number), contact details, photograph, certain cookies, and location
In this Policy, we explain how we will use and protect your Personal Information in compliance with POPIA. "You" means any natural or legal person (a data subject) whose Personal Information we process as a result of your use of the Platform. Additional terms will also apply to our relationship when you register to use the Platform by creating an account (and becoming a "User") and accept the terms and conditions applicable to Users (the "Terms and Conditions"). Our "Cookie Policy" also applies to our processing of cookies on the Platform. The terms of this Policy will prevail if there is any conflict between this Policy, the Terms and Conditions and the Cookie Policy. We may change the terms of this Policy from time to time and will always process Personal Information in accordance with the latest version.
In terms of POPIA, UCT and SAMA process information as responsible parties for the purposes of managing our relationship and offering our services and the Platform.
  1. Children's personal information and special personal information
The Platform is only intended for use by persons 18 years and older, and this Policy and the Terms and Conditions can only be accepted by such persons, and not on behalf of a minor by a parent/guardian.
In the event that UCT or SAMA process children's and special Personal Information through the Platform, the Personal Information of children and special Personal Information will only be processed in compliance with POPIA, and therefore, in the case of a child, with the consent of the child's parent/guardian (where the child is under the age of 18). Acceptance of the Terms and Conditions and this Policy, and any other specific written consent provided by the User or a parent/guardian on behalf of a child, will constitute consent by the User and/or parent/guardian for UCT and SAMA to process the User's and/or child's Personal Information.
If necessary, we may also process Personal Information of children and special Personal Information if provided for in law, for example, where it is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of a right or obligation in law or where it is necessary to comply with an obligation of international public law.
  1. Collecting Personal Information
We collect Personal Information about you from the following sources:
  1. 3.1 directly from you when you provide it to us, such as when you access the Platform and create a User profile, through the provision of our services and interaction with you as a User;
  2. 3.2 from third parties when you interact with them and where you have authorised the third party to share any Personal Information with us, such as Google, Apple and Facebook where you use their service to create a User profile and Google and Apple where you have purchased access to the Platform from them;
  3. 3.3 from third party service providers and platforms that we use to provide our services, where you have authorised us to access relevant information stored by or created as a result of those service providers, such as the Google Play Store and Apple iStore;
  4. 3.4 from third party sources where you have made Personal Information public; and
  5. 3.5 from your use of our Platform.
  1. Categories of personal information that we process
  1. 4.1 General personal details: name and surname, gender, date of birth, age, nationality, language preferences, profession and related information, including your SAMA membership information.
  2. 4.2 Contact details: User contact number, email address and general location information.
  3. 4.3 Communication information: Personal Information included in correspondence from Users.
  4. 4.4 Consent records: records of any consents you have given us in respect of using your Personal Information and any related information, such as the specific details of the consent. We will also record any withdrawals or refusals of consent.
  5. 4.5 Transaction and payment details: transaction records, payment method, payment amount, date and related information.
  6. 4.6 Data relating to our Platform: such as the type of device used to access the Platform, operating system and browser, browser settings, IP address, dates and times of connecting to and using the Platform, associated technologies, and other technical communications information, subject to your browser/device settings.
  7. 4.7 Account details: such as your username, password, usage data, and aggregate statistical information.
  8. 4.8 Content and advertising data: records of your interactions with our online advertising on the various websites which we advertise and records relating to content displayed on our webpages displayed to you.
  9. 4.9 Views and opinions: any views and opinions that you choose to share with us, or publicly post about us on social media platforms or elsewhere.
  1. Purposes of processing personal information
  1. 5.1 We only process adequate and relevant Personal Information for the following purposes and legal bases:
    1. 5.1.1 to perform in terms of our agreement with you to provide our services;
    2. 5.1.2 operate and manage your account or relationship with us, which may include correspondence with you;
    3. 5.1.3 to monitor and analyse our business to ensure that it is operating properly, for financial management and for business-development purposes;
    4. 5.1.4 contact you via the Platform or by email, phone, SMS, or other means to inform you about our services, unless you have opted-out of such communications (direct marketing);
    5. 5.1.5 form a view of you as an individual and to identify, develop or improve our services;
    6. 5.1.6 carry out market research and surveys, business and statistical analysis and necessary audits;
    7. 5.1.7 fraud prevention;
    8. 5.1.8 perform other administrative and operational tasks like testing our processes and systems and ensuring that our security measures are appropriate and adequate; and
    9. 5.1.9 comply with our regulatory, legal or other obligations.
  2. 5.2 In addition to the above purposes, we may use Personal Information for other purposes if the law allows for it, if you consent to it, or if it is in the public interest to do so. We also process statistical demographic information for our internal and contractual reporting obligations, however, this information does not include Personal Information and cannot be traced back to a User.
  3. 5.3 All purposes for the processing of your Personal Information will be legal in terms of POPIA.
  1. Direct marketing and communications
  1. 6.1 We may process your Personal Information to contact you to provide you with information regarding our services, the information published on the Platform or the services of our partner organisations, that may be of interest to you. Where we provide services to you (where you are a customer of ours), UCT and SAMA may send information to you regarding our services and other information that may be of interest to you, using the contact details that you have provided to us. We will only send you direct marketing communications where you have consented to us sending you direct marketing, or about our services, or otherwise in compliance with POPIA.
  2. 6.2 You may unsubscribe from any direct marketing communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link that we include in every direct marketing communication or by contacting us and requesting us to do so.
  3. 6.3 After you unsubscribe, we will not send you any direct marketing communications, but we will continue to contact when necessary in connection with providing you with the services or in connection with our business.
  1. Disclosure of Personal Information to third parties
  1. 7.1 We will keep your Personal Information confidential and only share it with others in terms of this Policy, or if you consent to it, or if the law requires from us to share it. We may disclose your Personal Information to:
    1. 7.1.1 our business partners and third party processors in order to provide you with the Platform and our services, this includes data storage service providers, third party software/platform providers (such as Google, Apple, etc.) in accordance with written agreements with these parties;
    2. 7.1.2 legal and regulatory authorities, upon their request, or for the purposes of reporting any breach of POPIA;
    3. 7.1.3 accountants, auditors, lawyers and other external professional advisors in terms of written agreements with them;
    4. 7.1.4 any relevant party to the extent necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal rights, criminal offences, threats to public security, etc.;
    5. 7.1.5 any relevant third party if we sell or transfer all or any portion of our business or assets; and
    6. 7.1.6 any relevant third party provider where our Platform uses third party advertising, plugins or content.
  2. 7.2 If we engage third party operators to process Personal Information, the operators will only be appointed in terms of a written agreement which will require the third party operators to only process Personal Information on our written instructions, use appropriate measures to ensure the confidentiality and security of Personal Information and comply with any other requirements set out in the agreement and required by POPIA.
  1. International transfers of Personal information
  1. 8.1 Due to the nature of our services and the resources that we make use of in providing the Platform, we may need to transfer Personal Information to and from different countries for our business purposes.
  2. 8.2 We may transfer Personal Information to recipients in other countries. We will only transfer Personal Information to third parties in countries with adequate data protection laws or do so in terms of a written agreement with the recipient which imposes data protection requirements on that party as required by POPIA.
  3. 8.3 Please note that when you transfer any Personal Information directly to a third party in another country (i.e. we do not send your Personal Information to the third party), we are not responsible for that transfer of Personal Information (and such transfer is not based on or protected by this Policy). Any Personal Information that we receive from a third party country will nevertheless be processed in terms of this Policy.
  1. Security
  1. 9.1 We have implemented appropriate technical and organisational security measures designed to protect Personal Information against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, disclosure, access and other unlawful or unauthorised forms of processing. These measures are in accordance with POPIA.
  2. 9.2 The internet is an open and often vulnerable system and the transfer of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will implement all reasonable measures to protect Personal Information, we cannot guarantee the security of your Personal Information transferred to us using the internet. Therefore, you acknowledge and agree that any transfer of Personal Information via the internet is at your own risk and you are responsible for ensuring that any Personal Information that you send is sent securely.
  1. Your legal rights
  1. 10.1 You have certain rights in relation to your Personal Information. As available and except as limited under POPIA, you have the following rights in respect of your Personal Information:
    1. 10.1.1 right of access: the right to be informed of and request access to the Personal Information that we process about you;
    2. 10.1.2 right to rectification: you may request that your Personal Information be amended or updated where it is inaccurate or incomplete;
    3. 10.1.3 right to erasure: the right to request that we delete your Personal Information, subject to applicable limitations and exceptions;
    4. 10.1.4 right to restrict processing: you may request that we temporarily or permanently stop processing your Personal Information;
    5. 10.1.5 right to object:
      1. 10.1.5.1 you may object to us processing your Personal Information; and
      2. 10.1.5.2 to your Personal Information being processed for direct marketing purposes;
    6. 10.1.6 right not to be subject to automated decision-making: where a decision that has a legal or other significant effect is based solely on automated decision making, including profiling, you may request that your Personal Information not be processed in that manner.
  2. 10.2 Where you have provided consent for us to process your Personal Information, you may also withdraw your consent where our processing is based on your consent. However, we may continue to process your Personal Information if another legal justification exists for the processing.
  1. Links on the Platform and third party services
The Platform may include links to third party websites, and we make use of third party services and platforms to provide the services, but these websites and services/platforms do not fall under our supervision. We cannot accept any responsibility for your privacy or the content of these third party sites, but we display these links in order to make it easier for you to find information about specific subjects and make use of these third party services and platforms to provide our services. Your use of and reliance on these links is at your own risk.
  1. Right to object
You may, on reasonable grounds, object to us using your Personal Information for certain purposes. If you object, we will stop using your Personal Information, except if POPIA allows its use. To exercise this right or to discuss it with us, please contact us on pha-mic@uct.ac.za.
  1. Quality and access to your information
  1. 13.1 Quality: we want to ensure that your Personal Information is accurate and up to date. You may ask us to correct or remove any Personal Information that you think is inaccurate, by sending us an email on pha-mic@uct.ac.za..
  2. 13.2 Access: you have the right to request that we provide you with Personal Information that we hold about you. You must contact us directly to do so or send an email to pha-mic@uct.ac.za.. This request may be subject to an access to information request in terms of POPIA and may require you to verify your identity, identify the rights you are wishing to exercise and pay a fee.
  3. 13.3 The right to access your Personal Information may further be limited in terms of POPIA.
  1. Retention of information
  1. 14.1 We take every reasonable step to ensure that your Personal Information is only processed for the minimum period necessary for the purposes set out in this Policy.
  2. 14.2 We retain Personal Information in accordance with the required retention periods in POPIA or as required by other laws or regulations, or for legitimate business purposes. We will only retain your Personal Information for the purposes explicitly set out in this Policy. We may keep Personal Information indefinitely in a de-identified format for statistical purposes, which may include for example statistics of how you use the Platform and services.
  3. 14.3 This Policy also applies when we retain your Personal Information. We may retain your Personal Information for the duration of any period necessary to establish, exercise or defend any legal rights.
  1. Security breach
We will report any breach of Personal Information to the Information Regulator in terms of POPIA and to the persons whose Personal Information is involved in the breach. If you want to report any concerns about our privacy practices or if you suspect any breach regarding your Personal Information, kindly notify us by sending an email to pha-mic@uct.ac.za..
  1. Lodging a complaint
  1. 16.1 If you want to raise any objection or have any queries about our privacy practices, you can contact our data protection officer on pha-mic@uct.ac.za.
  2. 16.2 You also have the right to formally lodge a complaint to the Information Regulator in terms of POPIA with the following contact details:
    1. 16.2.1 Website: https://www.inforegulator.org.za/
    2. 16.2.2 Address: JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001 / P.O Box 31533, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2017.
    3. 16.2.3 Tel: +27 10 023 5200
    4. 16.2.4 Email: general: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za ; complaints: POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.co.za..