Has POPIA finally been given a set of teeth?
26 Apr 2022
Many critics have noticed a trend in court decisions not to invoke POPIA, the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013, as amended, in its reasoning toward judgments. For example, even the recent order to publish Matric results in the media lacked judgment and could have been an opportunity to apply POPIA. Instead, the courts have relied on the constitutional right to privacy, weighing it against other rights as the context requires.
What does this mean for us?
Individuals and companies, as either data subjects or responsible parties, have yet to see how the Act will be interpreted in South Africa. It appears that judgments making use of POPIA are likely to follow from complaints brought to the Information Regulator using the Act’s own complaints procedure. In October 2021 the Information Regulator published a set of rules that a complainant ought to follow, making it possible to lodge a complaint with the official data protection government body. This year we will likely see a POPIA driven judgment.
The law
Section 74 of POPIA under Chapter 10 Enforcement, allows for two circumstances under which a complaint may be brought:
- Any party may allege interference with the protection of a data subject’s personal information, or
- Either a data subject or responsible party may report their grievance with an adjudicator’s decision.
Whilst the Act seems to invite all complaints, the Information Regulator’s rules detail who may complain, how they should do so, and where to submit their complaint.
Conclusion
If you or someone you care about has had their personal information dealt with carelessly, you may have grounds to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator.
Similarly, if you are a data subject or a responsible party processing personal information and you disagree with the decision made by an adjudicator, you have the right to contact the Information Regulator.
Contact an attorney at SchoemanLaw Inc for your POPIA needs!
Written by Samad Hoosen, Candidate Attorney at Schoemanlaw Inc.
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(This article is provided for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. For more information on the topic, please contact the author/s or the relevant provider.)