Tag archives: Data protection

UK loss adjusters guilty of breach of data protection

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) on March 29, 2018 Posted in General

A jury in England has found four individuals and the firm providing loss adjusting and claims management services guilty on charges of unlawfully disclosing personal data that was illegally obtained regarding the financial information of a number of individuals including details of their banking transactions. The firm used private investigators who obtained and disclosed the … Continue reading

POPI Regulator to commence duties on 1 December 2016

By Nerushka Bowan on October 27, 2016 Posted in General

The functions of the Information Regulator include: to provide education about the Protection of Personal Information Act, for example, giving advice to data subjects in the exercise of their rights; to monitor and enforce compliance with POPI; to consult with interested parties; to handle complaints; to conduct research and to report to Parliament; to issue … Continue reading

Self-service medicine-dispensing machine launched at International AIDS Conference

By Nerushka Bowan and Rakhee Bhikha on July 27, 2016 Posted in General

The Department of Health in South Africa has recognised that one of the reasons for the failure to achieve ‘Health for All’ as envisioned by the Alma Ata Declaration is the failure to address health systems effectively. In line with their intention to prioritise access to medicines and vaccines the department launched self-service medicine-dispensing machines … Continue reading

Medical technology initiatives announced in Health Minister’s budget speech

By Nerushka Bowan and Rakhee Bhikha on June 6, 2016 Posted in General

The use of technology in the health sector is on the rise. The intersection of these two industries leads to interesting legal questions relating to digital risk, including big data analytics, data security and privacy. In his budget speech on 10 May 2016, Minister Aaron Motsoaledi discussed the following interesting medical technology initiatives being undertaken … Continue reading

New structures to fight cybercrime

By Rohan Isaacs (ZA) and Tatum Govender (ZA) on October 28, 2015 Posted in General

Cybercrime happens at the speed of broadband with criminals able to easily move the tools of their activities from one location to another. Successfully combatting cybercrime therefore requires real time detection and investigation, often by different agencies in different countries. Cybercrime has exploded internationally in the past several years in tandem with the surge of … Continue reading

Can you be traced through your internet activity?

By Kerri Gevers (SG) on October 26, 2015 Posted in General

Each device which accesses the internet is allocated a unique number (Internet Protocol or IP address) by its internet service provider (ISP). A record is created each time this IP address accesses a webpage, including the date, time and URL (website address) accessed. These records are stored by the ISP. ISPs are prohibited from providing … Continue reading

Challenges to banking and tech: data and cybercrime

By Rohan Isaacs (ZA) on October 13, 2015 Posted in Banking

The proliferation of data gives rise to two challenges: Companies need to manage the vast amounts of data they now control and turn it to useful purposes. The availability of so much data has been an ideal environment for an explosion of various forms of cybercrime. Data The role of data scientists and analytic technology … Continue reading

South African perspective on ECJ ruling that Safe Harbo(u)r is invalid

By Nerushka Bowan on October 13, 2015 Posted in General

South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act 2013 (POPI) is largely based on the principles of the EU data protection directive. This includes the requirement that personal information must be adequately protected when transferred cross-border (assuming none of the other grounds apply). As the US does not have privacy laws equivalent to the EU it … Continue reading

3 reasons why POPI is good for South Africa

By Nerushka Bowan and Kerri Gevers (SG) on October 31, 2014 Posted in General

We often hear complaints about the additional red tape that compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPI) will impose on business. Although compliance will be a continual process, it should not be viewed as an impractical or overly burdensome task. POPI is not aimed at restricting business and should be applied practically. … Continue reading

Protection of Personal Information Act: Ten things to know

By Nerushka Bowan on August 12, 2014 Posted in General

We have published a handy ten things to know about the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI). We look briefly at issues such as how POPI applies to your organisation, direct marketing, cross-border transfers, notification of data breaches and enforcement. Once the act and regulations are brought into force you will have a year to … Continue reading

POPI takes its first steps

By Desiree Reddy (ZA) on April 14, 2014 Posted in General

After much anticipation, an important milestone in the road to commencement of the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPI), has been reached. From 11 April 2014, the following sections of POPI are operational: Section 1, which contains the definitions and sets out the purpose of POPI; Part A of Chapter 5 (sections 39 to 54), … Continue reading