The Protection of Personal Information Bill (POPI), set to radically change the way in which both the state and private organisations deal with individuals' private information, is still on track to become law this year.

Although it was adopted by the National Assembly in September 2012, the Select Committee of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) had proposed, and has since adopted, minor amendments to POPI. These amendments must still be adopted by the NCOP itself.

All indications are that its adoption is likely to be a mere formality. Thereafter, POPI must return to the National Assembly, which must reconsider it in light of the amendments proposed by the NCOP. If the National Assembly passes POPI, it proceeds to the President for signature, at which point it becomes an Act.

In its current form (unlikely to change) POPI provides for a one-year "grace period" within which processors of data are afforded the opportunity to get their house in order.

Dario Milo and Greg Palmer recently attended the 2013 Privacy Laws & Business Conference in Cambridge, England. The Conference provides a useful forum for legal practitioners from jurisdictions around the world to discuss their laws on the protection of private information. At this year's conference it was ascertained that 99 countries in the world have already adopted this type of legislation. The imminent enactment of POPI is therefore to be welcomed.

The team has also been conducting training, seminars and workshops on POPI to various clients. Please let us know if you would like to have a seminar on POPI delivered by the team. We are also happy to discuss our POPI offering with you.

Read Milo and Palmer's article here