Tag: Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA)

While almost everyone has heard the phrase: 'This call may be recorded for quality control purposes', while waiting to speak to a business service representative or call centre operator, businesses are starting to appreciate that the effective and compliant recording of conversations has evolved from humble beginnings into a strategy to provide a strategic business advantage.

This article discusses the impact of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) on artificial intelligence or machine learning systems used in the context of the workplace.

With the commencement date of the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) of 1 July 2021 fast approaching, businesses should be reviewing their use of personal information to determine if it complies with the Act. It is important to understand that any business that has employees, customers and suppliers must comply with POPIA when dealing with personal information.

Have you ever underestimated someone simply because you didn’t really know them? This is also true when it comes to financial benefits, particularly those we access through our employer, like group insurance. Unfortunately many employees do not fully understand or appreciate the insurance benefits they have through their employer; although the current pandemic is certainly reminding all of us how important it is to have financial certainty in the event of the unexpected, like disability, critical illness or death.

The benefits of migrating into the cloud have long been evident. However, certain challenges have held the Financial Services Industry (FSI) organisations back from fully embracing the flexibility, agility and cost effectiveness of cloud-based solutions, particularly with regard to data storage.

Digitalisation is impacting nearly every single aspect of our lives. There is not only a rapid adoption of machine learning and artificial intelligence tools, but everyone is becoming more dependent on software, hardware and cloud infrastructure.

Regulators are no longer afraid to protect peoples’ rights to privacy against tech giants. In recent years, we have seen the likes of Google and Facebook receive large amounts of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) fines.

Data loss has financial implications, whether as a result of lost productivity or fines due to breaches of regulations like the Protection of Personal Information Act (PoPIA). In an already challenging economy, businesses simply cannot afford to not protect their data.

Businesses that have taken steps to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation passed by the EU will also have to be compliant with South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act by July 2021. Compliance with one, does not ensure compliance with the other.

In an accelerated digital landscape marked by ever-increasing amounts of data processed every day, information technology practitioners must navigate through multiple information lifecycle management practices daily to ensure the veracity of business data.