The regulator has filed an urgent court application to prevent the department from publishing the 2024 matric results on public forums, including newspapers, citing privacy concerns.

The Information Regulator argues that publishing the results would violate the learners' right to privacy, as outlined in the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). The act, which was recently introduced, provides stringent protections for personal information, particularly that of children.

"We do now have legislation called the Protection of Personal Information Act, POPIA for short, and it provides certain protection for people's personal information, more importantly, information that relates to children. It has stringent requirements for the protection of personal information, so the question here is how do we adjust our usual practices to the current legal framework," said Mukelani Dimba, the regulator's Spokesperson.

--SABC/ChannelAfrica--