Key Differences between POPIA & GDPR -South African Businesses

POPIA & the GDPR are both data protection laws, but they have some key differences. 😀 It's good practice to be mindful of these differences when implementing both legislations.

Here’s a summary of the main distinctions:

Territorial Scope: GDPR has a broader territorial scope as it applies to entities outside the EU that process data of EU residents. POPIA applies to processing within South Africa, regardless of where the responsible party is located.

POPIA: refers to a Responsible Party and an Operator whereas the GDPR refers to them as a Controller and a Processor. 👀

Personal Information/Data Definition: GDPR refers to “personal data” related to natural persons, while POPIA extends to juristic persons as well.🧑‍💼

Data Subject Rights: Both laws grant rights to data subjects, but GDPR provides more specificity in rights such as data portability and the right to be forgotten.

Consent: POPIA requires consent to be a voluntary, specific, and informed expression of will, which is subject to interpretation. GDPR also requires clear affirmative action but is more detailed in its requirements.

Regulatory Authority: POPIA’s Information Regulator and GDPR’s Supervisory Authorities have similar roles but differ in jurisdiction and accountability.

These differences highlight the importance of understanding both regulations to ensure compliance, especially for organisations that operate both in South Africa and the EU.