P4 Radio Cape Town - Conveying Cellphone Number of Member of Public without Permission

A radio presenter was phoned on his personal cell phone by a listener in regard to what the listener considered to be racist comments by the presenter. Thereafter the presenter called the listener back and afforded him the opportunity of repeating what he had said on air. The presenter then conveyed the listener’s cell phone number to listeners and invited listeners to call the said person and debate the issue with the latter. It was common cause that the presenter had not obtained the listener’s permission to convey the number to the public.

The Broadcasting Tribunal held that the conveying of a person’s cell phone number to listeners without that person’s permission amounted to an invasion of the listener’s privacy, which was protected both by the Broadcasting Code and section 14 of the Constitution of the RSA.

Since the station manager had both conceded that the Code had been contravened and had also conveyed the station’s concern about the said matter to the presenter, the Tribunal did not, in the light of the station’s clean record, regard it necessary to take stricter steps against the station than to reprimand it. The Tribunal requested that a letter of apology be sent to the member of the public by the station manager via the Registrar of the Commission.