Technology corporations that are unjustly profiteering from access to personal data and manipulating democratic processes.
Open Secrets investigation raises red flags around the digitalization of grants process CapeTalk: Breakfast with Refilwe Moloto | 29 November 2021 Abby May, an Investigations Intern at Open Secrets, speaks to John Maytham about an investigation which highlights the threats to privacy and vulnerable individuals when private companies co-create the digital infrastructure used by the…
Open Secrets investigation raises red flags around the digitalization of grants process CapeTalk: Breakfast with Refilwe Moloto | 29 November 2022 Abby May, an Investigations Intern at Open Secrets, speaks to John Maytham about an investigation that highlights the threats to privacy and vulnerable individuals when private companies co-create the digital infrastructure used by the…
Newzroom Afrika | 27 November 2021 After President Cyril Ramaphosa introduced social assistance measures to soften the battering from COVID-19, unemployed adults aged 18 to 59 were brought into the social security net for the first time. These new grant beneficiaries were not registered with the SA Social Security Agency, so private partners such as…
Just what is the ‘new Net1’? Financial Mail | Rob Rose | 25 November 2021 Fintech firm Net1 is still trying to shake the image of a company fleecing social grant recipients. But winning back legitimacy isn’t that easy. “Rehabilitation is a journey. There’s been a lot of hurt and a lot of mistrust,” says…
With a new Covid grant, and demand for a basic income grant spiking, companies such as GovChat are getting in on the action. Is SA risking another Net1 debacle?
The investigative report, Digital Profiteers: Who Profits Next from Social Grants, focuses on how the digitalisation of state services offers opportunities for corporations to generate excessive profits from digital systems that can harm vulnerable people.
Financial Mail | 22 November 2021 The FM and Open Secrets on November 25 hosted an online discussion on the dangers of the ‘digital welfare state’ In April 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa introduced a raft of social assistance measures to provide relief to struggling South Africans as the economy took a battering from Covid. Among…
Daily Maverick | Abby May| 24 June 2021 With the move of government departments to digitisation, private companies creating the digital infrastructure will have access to millions of South Africans’ data. Many will undoubtedly seek to monetise that access. Abby May is an intern at Open Secrets. In late 2020 South African credit bureau agency Experian…