Legal updates and opinions
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Duchess of Sussex, Privacy and POPIA
by Ahmore Burger-Smidt, Director and Head of Data Privacy Practice and member of Competition Law Practice; and Nyiko Mathebula, Candidate Attorney The privacy of individuals is [...]
Information Regulator issues Guidelines for the development of Codes of Conduct effective 1 March 2021
by Ahmore Burger-Smidt, Director and Head of Data Privacy Practice and member of Competition Law Practice; and Dimakatso Khumalo, Candidate Attorney On 22 February 2021, [...]
WhatsApp, a misconceived menace to society?
by Ahmore Burger-Smidt, Director and Head of Data Privacy Practice and member of Competition Law Practice; and Dale Adams, Candidate Legal Practitioner and Associate Introduction "By [...]
Data, a commodity of trade in the new world order? Or not…
By Ahmore Burger-Smidt, Director and Head of Data Privacy Practice and member of the Competition Law Practice; and Dale Adams, Candidate Legal Practitioner and Associate Introduction [...]
Who is looking at what – Digitization, CCTV surveillance and privacy
by Ahmore Burger-Smidt, Director and Head of Data Privacy Practice and member of the Competition Law Practice "Look you, sir,Inquire me first what Danskers are in [...]
Science fact – the Internet of Things
by Ahmore Burger-Smidt, Director and Head of Data Privacy Practice and Member of the Competition Practice; and Dimakatso Khumalo, Candidate Attorney 'It's not science fiction anymore. [...]
Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (“BBBEE”) pre-qualification criteria for state tenders declared invalid
by Pieter Steyn, Director and Head of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Practice The Supreme Court of Appeal ("SCA") has declared that the Preferential Procurement Regulations [...]
Tackling B-BBEE issues in business
Webinar With more than 20 years into a new democratic era, Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) has become a key part of government policy and [...]
Data breaches in South Africa post POPI…Any lessons to be learned?
by Ahmore Burger-Smidt, Director and Head of the Data Privacy Practice; and Dale Adams, Candidate Attorney 1. During mid-August 2020, social media, news reports and other [...]
What now? POPI is at your front door.
by Ahmore Burger-Smidt, Director and Head of the Data Privacy Practice Questions in relation to POPI compliance are indeed ample. Various companies wish to understand [...]
Solutions thick and fast but as of 1 July 2020, innovation must incorporate POPIA conditions
By Ahmore Burger-Smidt , Director, Head of the Data Privacy Practice Group "The recently reported cyber attack on a healthcare institution in South Africa highlights yet [...]
The date is 1 July 2020…..The day has dawned!
by Ahmore Burger-Smidt , Director, Head of the Data Privacy Practice Group "On privacy issues, it's just like hundreds of years ago when people said, 'I [...]
The use of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (“BBBEE”) criteria for government relief funds in the COVID-19 crisis
An analysis of the Solidarity/Afriforum case involving the Tourism Relief Fund for small micro and medium sized enterprises (“SMMES”) By Pieter Steyn, Director The serious negative [...]
Unprecedented times should serve as a reminder: The importance of privacy
by Ahmore Burger-Smidt, Director and Head of the Data Privacy practice There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any [...]
As little as possible infringement? Is this the case when thinking about the right to privacy in South Africa?
by Ahmore Burger-Smidt, Director and Head of the Data Privacy practice A year back there would have been a massive outcry if anyone contemplated for governments [...]
The protection of privacy and personal information. How much personal information will be enough?
One Covid-19. So many tracing apps to locate individuals. "Your recently announced project to respond to COVID–19 by tracking when and where Americans interact with each [...]
Not Today, April fool Protection of Personal Information – South Africa falling further and further behind
by Ahmore Burger-Smidt, Director and Head of Data Privacy Practice Group, Werksmans Attorneys and Dale Adams, Candidate Attorney With everyone getting to grips with the lock-down [...]
When darkness comes, evil goes phishing….
By Ahmore Burger-Smidt, Head of Data Privacy Practice Let us not doubt the fact that cybercriminals are looking to exploit the spread of Coronavirus to conduct [...]
Home sweet home…. But do you know who is lurking in your space?
By Ahmore Burger-Smidt, Head of Data Privacy practice The concept of the home through the ages has been considered as a metaphor for a safe place, [...]
The long road to the protection of personal information – No April Fool’s Joke
The Protection of Personal Information Bill was first tabled 12 years ago, in 2009. It was signed into law in 2013, but very few provisions in [...]
Questioning the BBBEE commission’s approach to public benefit organisations in BBBEE ownership structures
By Pieter Steyn, Director A Public Benefit Organisation ("PBO") is defined in the Income Tax Act as a non‑profit company or a trust which has been [...]
Business must protect the data of all South Africans
If your business has met all the requirements of European data privacy regulations, do you then also comply with South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act [...]
Civil damages or even class action suits a possibility for companies failing to protect customer data
by Ahmore Burger-Smidt, Head of Data Privacy Practice Companies that fail to protect their customers’ personal information may face class action suits once the Protection of [...]
POPIA and RICA – ACRONYMS AND PRIVACY
By Ahmore Burger-Smidt, Head of Data Privacy Practice In digital era, privacy must be a priority. Is it just me, or is secret blanket surveillance obscenely [...]
The major cyber security risks to your business
by Ahmore Burger-Smidt, Head of Data Privacy Practice Online security is one of the most important things to consider in today’s business world. Much is made [...]