Added protection for personal information as POPI Act comes into effect

Added protection for personal information as POPI Act comes into effect

Thursday sees the implementation of the Protection of Personal Information Act, which is meant to regulate the use of customers’ personal information. 

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The act seeks to regulate what kind of information and data can be used from individuals.

 

Information specialist at Webber Wentzel, Karl Blom, says companies are now obliged to ask consent before sending out services. 

 

"It is definitely going to affect all kinds of direct marketing that we receive.

 

"So, where you are sending out marketing materials, you allowed to send materials to your existing customers for similar goods and services without your customer's consent.

 

"If you are reaching out to someone who is new and is not a customer of yours, you will then need to get their prior consent and every time you message these people, you are going to give them an opportunity to start processing those messages but if they say do not advertise to me again, you have to stop." 

 

POPI Act was promulgated by President Cyril Ramaphosa last year. 

 

The act also requires marketing companies to contain the identity of the sender or person on whose behalf the communication has been sent and an address to which the recipient may send a request to stop receiving of such communication. 

You can access the gazetted POPIA here 

POPIA gazetted document by Jacaranda FM News on Scribd

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