POPIA and Risks for Personalised Marketing

20 Jan

Personalised marketing, powered by technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), has transformed the way businesses engage with customers. By analysing purchasing patterns and behaviors, companies can tailor their marketing to individual preferences, increasing engagement and sales potential. However, this practice comes with significant data protection risks under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).

Key Risks for Personalised Marketing

Purpose Specification:
POPIA mandates that personal information must be collected for a specific and defined purpose.
Risk: Using collected data for unrelated marketing activities could breach this requirement.
Solution: Implement processes to prevent scope creep in data use.
Record Retention:
Personal data should not be kept longer than necessary.
Risk: Extended data retention for actionable insights may violate POPIA.
Solution: Regularly review retention policies to ensure compliance.
Security Safeguards:
POPIA requires reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data.
Risk: Large datasets used for marketing are attractive to cybercriminals.
Solution: Strengthen data security controls to prevent unauthorized access.
Data Subject Participation:
Businesses must provide customers with clear information about how their data is processed.
Risk: Self-learning AI systems can make it difficult to track and report on data use.
Solution: Understand AI tools thoroughly and maintain transparency with customers.
Notifications:
POPIA requires notifying customers about how their personal information is collected and used.
Risk: Failure to inform customers before data collection may lead to non-compliance.
Solution: Prioritise clear and upfront communication about data use, relying on exceptions only when absolutely necessary.

How You Can Assist Clients

Advise clients guiding them on compliance with POPIA requirements for personalised marketing, reducing their legal and reputational risks.
Implement internal controls - assist businesses to establish processes for data retention, security, and customer notification.
Enforce risk mitigation through regular reviews of marketing practices to ensure they align with POPIA regulations.

Source: Webber Wentzel

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