Does POPI apply retrospectively Copy

Does POPI apply to Personal Information obtained before POPI?

What about personal information collected and processed before the POPI Act becomes effective?

The POPI Act will not apply to any Processing of Personal Information that is done before the effective date of the Act.

However, it will apply to all Processing activities after the effective date of the Act, which means that any Personal Information which was collected by a Responsible Party before the effective date of the Act, and is still in the Responsible Party’s possession as at the effective date, must be Processed (for example used, stored, retained, destroyed, etc.) in accordance with the POPI Act from the effective date.

The POPI Act will therefore apply to all Personal Information, with effect from the Effective Date.