Personal information regulations no longer a vague consideration for businesses

Preeta Bhagattjee, Director, Technology and Sourcing at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr.

Draft POPIA Regulations now set clear responsibilities for business compliance.

The publication of the draft Regulations for public comment earlier this month brings South Africa a step closer towards the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) becoming fully effective, essentially making it a safer place when it comes to the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information.

According to Preeta Bhagattjee, Director, Technology and Sourcing at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, businesses that are not yet compliant need to urgently take note of the draft Regulations as there are now clear responsibilities that need to be taken into account and prepared for.

POPIA was promulgated into law in November 2013 with the purpose to protect personal information processed by public and private entities, and regulate the manner these entities may collect, collate, store, disclose and destroy personal information. It also seeks to align South African legislation with international legislation regarding the requirements for the lawful processing of personal information.

Preeta explains that draft Regulations set out detailed procedures for the practical implementation of POPIA and seek to regulate various administrative issues. She says that the draft Regulations specifically deal with the duties and responsibilities of Information Officers, and introduce very specific obligations and requirements for them. “Businesses need to familiarise themselves with these requirements and also adopt appropriate internal mechanisms to properly deal with any requests for access to, correction or deletion of personal information"

We propose an interview with Preeta, who is keen to discuss the following:

• Why it is key for businesses to familiarise themselves with the draft Regulations;
• How businesses could potentially be impacted should they not plan adequately for POPIA;
• Further details on the recently released POPIA draft Regulations.

Please see the below link for more information: http://bit.ly/2xeUekv