SA's Protection of Personal Information (PPI) Bill, which follows the European Union data protection model, gives SA an advantage, as it will make it more attractive as a destination for outsourcing.
This is according to Preeta Bhagattjee, director of Technology Media and Telecommunications Practice at law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, who says international companies are keenly watching SA as the country gears up for the PPI Bill, which is expected to be promulgated early next year.
She says the Bill gives effect to the constitutional right to privacy while protecting the free-flow of information and advancing the right of access to information. “This will finally set to fall in line with international standards for the collection and handling of personal information.”
Bhagattjee says the PPI Bill also applies if the responsible party is not domiciled in SA but processes personal information through automated or non-automatedmeans that are situated in SA. “This means that the PPI Bill is applicable to responsible parties outside of SA as well.”
She says the proposed law regulates how personal information can be processed and creates measures, including the establishment of an information protection regulator, to enforce the protection of personal information in SA.
“The PPI Bill also provides for various remedies for non-compliance, including the imposition of fines or a sanction of imprisonment in certain cases.
“International companies that have been operating under similar laws with regards to personal information will be better placed to achieve compliance with the PPI Bill because they would be able to adapt existing policies to fit the requirements of the PPI Bill.”
Bhagattjee also notes that this is an advantage for SA, as it will become more attractive as an outsourcing destination.
She recently attended the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) Conference in the US to inform her global peers, some of whom advise companies doing business in SA, as to what they can expect from the PPI Bill and how they should comply.
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