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Privacy regulation is on the horizon


Johannesburg, 16 Sep 2019

Do you understand what data privacy is and how it affects you? As a general citizen, you no doubt want to know that your personal data is being properly managed and what your rights are, but as an employee of a company that processes personal data, you are no doubt concerned about what is expected of you.

Numerous highly publicised cases of data breaches and leaking of personal information, with notable cases affecting South African citizens, have been reported over the past two years. This has meant that data privacy is fast becoming one of the most talked about topics, not just in business, but for the average citizen, the man in the street.

Stricter regulation is being enforced in many countries – the United Nations Conference on Trade reports that 107 countries now have data privacy laws – and this means most organisations are impacted, not just those processing financial transactions.

South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) affects any person or organisation that “collects, stores and otherwise modifies or uses information (ie, processes information)". Added to this, the EU’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) legislation also affects South African companies that process or store personal information on EU citizens.

Some companies have felt that, since POPIA has not been enacted (there are certain aspects of it that are already enacted), they don’t really need to be too concerned just yet about data privacy and any changes they may need to make to become compliant. Proactive organisations, on the other hand, have recognised the benefit of developing and implementing a comprehensive compliance programme that ideally covers the key requirements of POPIA – and, if applicable, the GDPR – and have started comprehensive privacy programmes that are aligned to a broader data governance programme or initiative.

tdglobal assists organisations with their data governance programmes, helping define strategy, frameworks, operating models and implementing programmes, through to the operational aspects of stewardship, data quality management and technology implementation. Data privacy and regulatory compliance are often the strongest drivers for such programmes.

A further aspect of tdglobal's services is training on data privacy. tdglobal is proud to be a training partner for the IAPP, which offers internationally recognised certifications in data privacy, from management to technical aspects.If you would like to learn more about tdglobal's data governance services or training programmes, complete the 'expression of interest' Web form here.

tdglobal is an international business providing enterprise software and services in the digital and data transformation space that helps customers deal with data as a strategic asset and build their digital ecosystems.

For more information, visit https://thinkdglobal.com.

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