Insight into an effective privacy programme enabling efficient decision making and planning for the busy executive.
THE PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION ACT (POPIA)
The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) has managed to go through several iterations and hard deadlines since it was first passed on 20 August 2013. Some of the deadlines have moved. Some of the approaches have changed. And some of the regulatory edges have been smoothed. Over the past eight years, the Act has undergone numerous stages, from appointing the Regulator to taking on public comment to final Regulations being publication in 2018. Today, it is ready for action and compliance is expected from every organisation by 01 July 2021.
But this doesn’t need to be a terrifying, complicated, and time-consuming prospect. In fact, it should be a move made by any organisation wanting to benefit from globalisation and international growth.
POPIA, while not identical to the current benchmark against which all privacy protection legislation is measured – the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – is considered to be a very close adherent, and this makes compliance a business benefit, not a business problem.
Brendon Ambrose
