The Protection of Personal Information Act came into effect in 2021 and has been a hot topic since. A lot has been said about it, information is everywhere, and it’s all pretty confusing. So, here is what you need to know about POPIA as an average social media user in South Africa.
Let’s start at the beginning. South Africa has a Constitution. The Constitution is the highest law in the land, meaning that no other laws can go against it and sometimes other laws have to be made to put rights into practice. This is where POPIA comes in. POPIA is about protecting our right to privacy when our personal data is being collected and processed.
POPIA protects our right to privacy by providing protection against our data being collected, retained, shared, or used unlawfully. Collecting, retaining, sharing, and using data are all considered methods of processing data, according to the Act. Data means information such as your name, ID number, age, sex, gender, marital status, sexual orientation and so on.
If you are not a business or are not using social media in a professional capacity, your posts are not governed by POPIA. This is because personal information that has been processed in the course of personal activity is exempt from the Act. So, basically, posting pictures and videos to your personal Instagram or TikTok won’t get you in trouble with POPIA. Posts made to business accounts, however, are governed by POPIA.
However, this doesn’t mean anyone can use your data or post pictures of you without your consent. Privacy is a human right in South Africa and you are entitled to that right.
This also does not mean that POPIA doesn’t affect you. Websites, social media, pretty much everywhere online, are collecting your data. For example, whenever you like a post, the website or app is collecting your data. It is important to know your rights regarding this.
There are eight conditions to process information lawfully. The most useful one of these requirements is that the person seeking to use the data needs the consent of the person to whom the data belongs. You also need to be informed that your data is, in fact, being collected and why. An everyday example of this is when you click into a website and it asks if you consent to cookies. You click yes and carry on with your life. What you’ve just done is consent to your data being collected.
POPIA requires that personal information be collected directly from the person to whom the information belongs, unless that information is included in a public record or is something the person has made publicly known. This is important for social media users, as posting information online makes the information public. It is very difficult to track where your posts are being shared, if they are being screenshotted and reposted, and who is seeing it.
In the social media age, most people are posting personal information online. POPIA helps you decide what information gets collected and protects your right to privacy.