Judgment: Francois Jurie Nicolaas Harman v Pieter Hendrik Strydom

24 July 2025

Dear Member

This is a SCA judgment handed down on 18 July 2025 and deals with the intersection between the right to privacy, including where information is already in the private domain, and the right to freedom of expression.

The appellant's Facebook page contained a slew of vitriolic postings directed at the respondent, neither Section 14 of the Constitution nor any provision of the POPI Act, protects a person who posts defamatory material of and concerning another, on a social media platform.

The appeal was dismissed with costs including the costs of two counsel.

Take care,

René Bekker
Chief Operating Officer

  Judgment: Francois Jurie Nicolaas Harman v Pieter Hendrik Strydom. Case No:285/2024