POPI Act Summary:
“To promote the protection of personal information processed by public and private bodies; to introduce certain conditions so as to establish minimum requirements for the processing of personal information; to provide for the establishment of an Information Regulator to exercise certain powers and to perform certain duties and functions in terms of this Act and the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000; to provide for the issuing of codes of conduct; to provide for the rights of persons regarding unsolicited electronic communications and automated decision making; to regulate the flow of personal information across the borders of the Republic; and to provide for matters connected therewith.” – https://popia.co.za/
Does my site collect data?
Yep, well most websites (All WordPress sites) collect user data. Data collection from a website usually comes from:
• Cookies
• Comments
• Email newsletters
• Contact forms
What is a cookie and can I eat it?
Browser Cookies are small text files stored in your visitor’s browser by your website and no, you can’t eat them. Cookies usually contain small bits of info that help your website remember your users behaviour and preferences.
Best practice to deal with these inedible cookies is to include a cookie policy within your websites privacy policy.
Does the POPI Act have an impact on the direct marketing I use to spam… I mean engage with my clients/customers?
You bet, the POPI Act gives the rights back to the recipient by making it mandatory that you acquire consent via an opt-in before sending them any direct marketing material. Simply allowing them to unsubscribe after you have added them without prior consent does not cover you from legal action. But don’t worry anyone you had on a mailing list pre POPI is fair game.
Do I have a privacy policy?
If you have to ask this question then the answer is most likely no. The POPI Act now legally requires you to have a privacy policy on your website that discloses the way in which you deal with the personal information collected by your website.
In this day and age, privacy has become a big issue so publishing a privacy policy on your tells your users that you take their personal data, and their privacy, seriously. It’s a win win, for everyone.
Can someone please just make my website compliant?
Well, funny you should ask… We have put a system in place making it easy for WordPress sites to become compliant, checkout this link: Hey, I’m the link… Click me!
The above information is only intended as a guide and isn’t legal advice.
