Page 109 - Research & Innovation Report 2020
P. 109
LAW
we all need to make sure that our businesses and
organisations have sufficient plans and policies in
place, including in contracts, to ensure that data
that is held by us on any platform, is dealt with as
prescribed by the POPIA.”
and selling of personal information on the open market is no
longer allowed. Failure to comply with the POPIA rules may result
in the IR imposing an administrative penalty of up to R10-million or
imprisonment of up to 10 years, or both.”
During a webinar hosted by Nelson Mandela University in January
2021 titled WhatsApp Privacy Policy: Testing South African Data
Protection Laws, attorney Lucien Pierce from PPM Attorneys, who
has been in the cyberlaw space for the last 20 years, explained that
an increasing number of business clients have been asking what
the implications are for their businesses.
He said: “Once the documents are on your device, it is not
WhatsApp’s fault if you are storing them in an insecure manner. It
is up to you to ensure that the documentation that you are storing
on the device is secure. Much like if I bring documents home and I
put them on my desk, I should ensure that my windows and doors
are locked so that somebody who is up to mischief cannot access
them.”
He continued, “By the beginning of July 2021 every business and
organisation was required to have a POPIA-registered information
officer and a data protection policy; we all have to make sure our
employees are informed about the POPIA, and the information Stephen Newman
officer needs to ensure our business processes protect all
information and data according to the law. “In synopsis, we all need to make sure that our businesses and
organisations have sufficient plans and policies in place, including
“Employees need to understand what they are and are not allowed in contracts, to ensure that data that is held by us on any platform,
to do when using company data, be it on WhatsApp or email or any is dealt with as prescribed by the POPIA. And, whether you are
service or platform. Highly confidential documents or information an individual or an organisation, the watchwords should always be
can be protected using technology. ‘caution first’.”
| 107
|107
