South Africa: Requirement to register Information Officer and Deputy Information Officer(s)

8 July 2021 - Effective from 1 July 2020, the Protection of Personal Information Act No. 4 of 2013 (POPIA) came into force, which imposes significant obligations on businesses that handle personal information, and requires preparation in advance to ensure compliance.

However, legal entities were given an extension to comply with this law, and thus all public and private entities now have an obligation to register an Information Officer and a Deputy Information Officer(s) by 1 July 2022 in order to ensure compliance with the conditions set out in POPIA.

Failure to comply with the law can attract severe penalties such as fines of up to R10 million and even a jail sentence of up to 10 years.