New regulations could help you put a stop to spam and marketing calls in SA
Government has published its long-awaited Protection of Personal Information (POPI) regulations, detailing how South African residents and businesses can have their personal data removed from company databases.
The new regulations, now open for public comment, allow a “data subject” (you) to object in writing to the processing of personal information, and submit such objection to the responsible party (the company).
These include requests to delete, correct, and/or destroy any records that the responsible party has in its possession.
In addition to regulations dealing with health-related personal information (insurance companies, pensions and medical aids), the new regulations seem to target marketers directly, said Era Gunning, banking and finance director at law firm, ENSAfrica.
“In terms of draft regulation 6, a responsible party may request a data subject’s written consent, by means of a form, to process their personal information, which corresponds substantially with form 4 to the draft Regulations.
“This form consists of two pages and will prove to be very onerous for any responsible party that conducts direct marketing by electronic means, such as email and SMS,” said Gunning.
The regulations also deal with the duties of information officers who will regulate and enforce complaints, and how complainants must be notified when changes are made to their personal data.
Any person wishing to comment on the draft regulations must do so on or before 7 November 2017.
You can find the draft regulations and an example of the paperwork required here.
Read: You can soon demand that companies remove your personal data from their systems
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