Page 50 - Q&A

Don’t get caught with your POPIA pants round
your ankles

July 2020
“With all the Covid-19 happenings dominating the media lately, it nearly slipped
through that some of the remaining provisions of the Protection of Personal
Information Act came into effect on 1 July 2020. Does this mean that all
Commercial You are correct in that President Cyril Ramaphosa proclaimed 1 July 2020 to
businesses must now comply?”

be the commencement date of certain important sections of the Protection
of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA). These sections include the
provisions pertaining to notifying the data subjects when collecting their
personal information, the manner of accessing personal information and
performing direct marketing using electronic means. Responsible parties, which
included all businesses that process (as defined by POPIA) personal information,
will have until 30 June 2021 to ensure their compliance with these provisions.
Although 12 months may sound like a long period to establish compliance,
it is cautioned that putting the necessary physical and electronic measures
in place to satisfy POPIA may not always be so easy and quick to do and
your business should immediately commence if it has not already done so.
Measures may also be costly, and given that many businesses will be scrambling
in these coming months to ensure their compliance, businesses may encounter
capacity and availability issues with advisors and experts that are unable to
assist due to the high demand.

If one considers that being POPIA compliant is not only a legal necessity but
can also help with client confidence, creating business legitimacy and even
attracting international partners wishing to work with compliant businesses, it
stands to reason that being POPIA compliant is a far more attractive option than
the reputational risk of not being compliant, not to mention the fines of up to R10
million and/or the risk of imprisonment.
It therefore stands to good reason that businesses should make haste if they
have not yet done so, to assess their POPIA compliance, and where necessary,
put the necessary measures in place timeously, before they get caught with
their pants down.

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