Unpacking Protection of Personal Information Bill (POPI)Up to now, South Africa has not had comprehensive legislation that governs the protection of personal information and similar data. However, this situation will change when the Protection of Personal Information Bill (POPI) comes into force. POPI has already been tabled in parliament and the parliamentary portfolio committee is working on it. Some changes are being made to the current version. The discussion below is based on that version and it must be kept in mind that the final version of POPI will probably differ from this short overview. The Bill's aim is to regulate the manner in which personal information is processed and to provide for remedies in cases where personal information is not handled accordingly. It will also establish an Information Protection Regulator that will oversee its administration. Its application is extremely wide. It applies, subject to various exclusions and exemptions, to all processing of personal information. "Personal information" is information relating to an identifiable, living, natural person. In certain instances, it can also be information of a juristic person (e.g. a company). Personal information includes details of a person (such as race, gender and age), a person's education or employment history, contact details and blood type. It even includes a person's opinions, view and preferences, as well as the views or opinions of another individual about that person. Noteworthy provisionsCurrently, the Bill contains eight principles of protection of personal information, some of which are divided into several sub-principles. Some of the noteworthy provisions are mentioned below:
It is important for businesses operating in South Africa to take note of POPI and consider the manner in which it will affect them. In particular, they will need to review their recording keeping, employment and information technology policies and procedures in order to ensure compliance with POPI once it is passed into law. About Danie StrachanDanie Strachan is partner at Adams & Adams.
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