There has been an increase in the collection and use of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data for security purposes globally. Though academic analysis of this trend has remained focused largely on the North American and European context, the Government of South Africa has been using PNRs since 2014 for security purposes. South Africa was the first country on the African continent to implement such a regime and is one of only thirteen states internationally to link its Advanced Passenger Information (API) and PNR systems. While there has been little attention on South Africa's use of PNRs, an inquiry into the country's PNR practices reveals striking privacy concerns, including the potential permanent retention of PNR data and a failure of the state to fully disclose if, and under what conditions, PNR data can be shared with other states. While South Africa has implemented a PNR regime that is comparable to the highest international standards, the data protection requirements appear to be far less developed. In fact, South Africa's PNR regime remains enigmatic as all indications and mention of PNR are elusive and scattered across government publications. As such, this paper aims to provide an introduction into the elements of South African PNR use, including the implications as they relate to law, data protection, and privacy.

在全球范围内，出于安全目的，旅客姓名记录（PNR）数据的收集和使用有所增加。尽管对此趋势的学术分析仍主要集中在北美和欧洲，但自2014年以来，南非政府出于安全目的一直在使用PNR。南非是非洲大陆上第一个实行这种制度的国家，并且是国际上将其高级旅客信息（API）和PNR系统联系起来的仅有的13个州之一。尽管很少有人关注南非使用PNR的情况，但对该国PNR做法的调查显示出令人担忧的隐私问题，包括PNR数据可能永久保留以及国家未能完全披露PNR是否以及在什么条件下公开数据可以与其他状态共享。尽管南非已实施了与最高国际标准相当的PNR制度，但数据保护要求似乎还远远不够完善。实际上，南非的PNR制度仍然是个谜，因为所有迹象和对PNR的提及都难以捉摸，而且散布在政府出版物中。因此，本文旨在介绍南非PNR使用的要素，包括与法律，数据保护和隐私相关的含义。