This Data Privacy Day, we take stock of where we are and how far
we've come in terms of data privacy in South Africa.
The Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013
("POPIA") mostly came into force on 1
July 2021. Since then and leading up to the commencement date,
there was a flurry of activity as organisations hurried to ensure
that they met the minimum requirements of the law.
Now, as we start a new year, organisations should interrogate
how effective the measures they have implemented are and whether
any changes need to be made.
The POPIA compliance journey is not over yet. The remaining
provisions, particularly section 58(2) dealing with prior
authorisation, come into effect from 1 February
2022 and we've already noted increased
submissions to the Information Regulator in respect of prior
authorisation applications. It remains to be seen how many
applications will be further investigated.
