Nomination of regulator means PoPI grace period almost over

With the recent vote by the National Assembly in favour of Advocate Pansy Tlakula to the post of the newly formed Information Regulator, the grace period for compliance with the upcoming Protection of Personal Information Act (PoPI) is almost over.

Tlakula is the former chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission and was elected last month to fill the new position. The Act, which promotes the protection of personal information by public and private bodies and stipulates how companies may collect, handle, store and discard information, with heavy penalties for those that fail to comply, is now a step closer to being operational.

PoPI will also hold organisations liable for the safety of their information, meaning companies could face increased data protection and disposal costs, massive fines, civil claims and reputational damage claims if they fail to upgrade information technology security systems ahead of the implementation of the Act.

Wale Arewa, chief executive officer of Fourways-based Xperien, expressed excitement at the recent milestone, as it meant that the Act was closer to becoming operational and this would impact both the consumer and the economy positively.

“It will force companies to change their processes to ensure that the personal information and data they collect is protected,” he said.

“The small guy whose rights have been violated by data breach will now have recourse to take on corporate companies; this was previously unthinkable, considering the cost implications of putting together a case for high court litigation.”

Another added advantage was that the new regulations would also make it easier and less risky for multinationals to do business in South Africa.

Furthermore, the introduction of the PoPI Act would not only make the introduction of mandatory protection of personal data a huge challenge for companies, but now organisations would also be prompted to rethink how they approach the reuse, recycle or recovery of their e-waste (electronic waste).

“The office of the Information Regulator will determine whether government and businesses respect the privacy rights of data subjects, or not,” he explained.

Xperien is a secure Information Technology Asset Disposal services company focused on managing millions of devices annually, disposing of them in a sustainable manner and in compliance with the laws of South Africa.

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