POPI Act South Africa
Does PoPIA Force Businesses to Rethink Data Strategies for the Better?
The moment has arrived: last week the Protection of Personal Information Act (PoPIA) came into force. It hasn’t been sprung on us, the process has been ongoing and businesses have been anticipating their compliance obligations for years. PoPIA, much like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU, exists to support the protection of personal information processed by public and private organisations. There are strong penalties for noncompliance. PoPIA is Live Now that the Act is live, there are several ramifications for businesses, but a few – anecdotally at least – have given executives more sleepless nights than others. Companies must allow data subjects to object to their data being processed, as well as have the right to revoke previously given consent at any time. When a c...
SA Schools May Face Penalties for PoPIA Non-Compliance
Image sourced from Business Tech. /* custom css */ .tdi_4_b41.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_4_b41.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } With the third wave of COVID-19 crashing upon South Africans and amidst increasing calls for schooling to be temporarily suspended, it could prove helpful for educational institutions across the country to use the time away from teaching to put some focus into protecting their data privacy. Schools and other tertiary institutions store and process more personal information than most other organisations, they are by far the most affected by the Protection of Personal Information Act, No 4 of 2012 (PoPIA), which comes into effect on 1 July 2021. PoPIA Applies to Schools, Universities /* custom css */ .tdi_3_cab.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi...
Why POPIA Compliance is not just an IT Problem
Since its implementation in 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has become a global standard in protecting end-users from the unlawful use or dissemination of their personal information. South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), set to commence in July 2021, is modelled on GDPR, and it affects all businesses. While many organisations believe that POPIA compliance will not affect them, or that it is just an IT problem, this is a short-sighted attitude that could see them falling foul of the law. Compliance requires business and IT to work together to manage data effectively, which at the same time provides a number of business benefits. The buck does not stop with IT POPIA is an umbrella data protection law that governs how businesses need to handle data...
Intelligent Compliance: POPIA in the Age of AI
The artificial intelligence (AI) market is predicted to reach revenues of $156 billion by the end of 2020, according to IDC, with the largest segments being application and enterprise relationship management (ERM) at 20% and 17% respectively. The scale of AI growth alongside developments in automation, machine learning, deep learning, and the Internet of Things is equally driving the creation of extraordinary volumes of data. In fact, research has found that the number of digital bits produced every year could exceed the number of atoms on the planet by the year 2245. But as data grows and AI interprets and organisations analyse, so does the risk – the risk of non-compliance with regulations such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe and the Protection of Personal Informat...
New POPI Act Regulations – Here’s Everything You Should Know
Sourced from Europa EU. Progress is being made to promote the protection of personal information in South Africa. President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced the commencement of parts of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). The remaining provisions of the Act will be addressed once the Information Regulator assume its powers, functions and duties in terms of the Act. The sections that will commence today, 1 July 2020 and include the conditions for processing personal information, procedures for dealing with complaints and provisions regulating direct marketing by means of unsolicited electronic communication. Sections 2 – 38, 55 – 109, 111 and 114 (1), (2) and (3) commences on 1 July 2020 and Sections 110 and 114(4) will commence on 30 June 2021. What does this mean? According t...
