POPI-REGISTRATION OF INFORMATION OFFICERS AND 01 JULY 2020

POPI-REGISTRATION OF INFORMATION OFFICERS AND 01 JULY 2020

The first point to know about the Protection of Personal Information Act is that it aims to protect personal information. The Act applies to all private and public institutions that process personal information-including, but not limited to natural persons, partnerships, juristic persons, state departments, municipalities and any other bodies performing functions in terms of the Constitution.

The Act has an extensive definition of personal information, which includes the-

• Information relating to the race, blood type, marital status, religion, well-being, personal views, opinions, etcetera, of a person.
• Information relating to financial, medical, criminal or employment history of a person; and names, phone numbers, physical and e-mail addresses, etcetera, of a person.

The second point to understand is that the POPI Act does not apply to, inter alia-

• The processing of personal information for personal or household purposes.
• The processing of information by the state for the investigation or prosecution of crimes.
• Anonymous information, namely, information in which the personal details of an individual have been removed.
• The processing of information on behalf of the state for defence, national security, or personal safety purposes.

POPI has required companies to register their respective information officers with the Information Regulator, prior to 01 July 2021.

However, many companies have encountered difficulties when attempting to register their Information Officer using the online portal, necessitating the Information Regulator to abandon the requirement of registration by 01 July 2021.

On the 22^nd of June 2021 the Regulator confirmed that there is no existing deadline for registration.

The correspondence states: -

“The information Regulator has confirmed that there will be no deadline for registration of information officers (IO) and Deputy Information officers (DIO); this means that no responsible party will be held liable for not registering by 30 June 2021.This decision follows technical glitches with the registration portal and numerous concerns raised by responsible parties regarding the registration process.”

*Source:  ISSUED BY THE INFORMATION REGULATOR OF SOUTH AFRICA 

Should you require assistance or have any queries with your company’s POPI Compliance, please do not hesitate to contact Duvenage Attorneys and we will gladly assist you.