Guidance Note on Direct Marketing - in terms of the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA)

Nov 4, 2026

Uploaded by Hazel

Guidance Note on Direct Marketing explains how the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) applies to direct marketing practices, including how personal information may be approached, collected, and used for promoting goods or services or requesting donations. It sets out definitions, the legislative framework, and requirements for lawful processing, including objection mechanisms, rules for unsolicited electronic communications, pre-emptive blocking, and compliance with the eight conditions for lawful processing. It also provides general guidance on sharing personal information and automated decision-making.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLetters

FormatPDF

Pages26

Reading Time9 min

AccessFree to download

Contents

Definitions

1. Introduction

2. Purpose

3. Legislative Framework

4. Direct Marketing and the types of direct marketing in terms of POPIA

5. Direct marketing other than direct marketing by means of unsolicited electronic communications

6. Objection in terms of section 11 (3)(b) of POPIA

7. Direct marketing by means of unsolicited electronic communication in terms of section 69 of POPIA

8. Registering a pre-emptive block in terms of section 11 of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008

9. Compliance with the eight conditions for the lawful processing of personal information

10. General guidance regarding sharing of personal information and automated decision-making

11. Legal effect of the Guidance Note

12. Contact details

13. Reference List

Guidance Note on Direct Marketing In terms of the Protection Of Personal Information Act 4 Of 2013 (POPIA) Guidance Note on Direct Marketing in terms of the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) | | Contents | | | --- | --- | --- | | | Definitions | 4 | | | 1. Introduction | 5 | | | 2. Purpose | 5 | | | 3. Legislative Framework | 5 | | | 4. Direct Marketing and the types of direct marketing in terms of POPIA | 9 | | | 5. Direct marketing other than direct marketing by means of unsolicited electronic communications | 10 | | | 6. Objection in terms of section 11 (3)(b) of POPIA | 13 | | | 7. Direct marketing by means of unsolicited electronic communication in terms of section 69 of POPIA | 14 | | | 8. Registering a pre-emptive block in terms of section 11 of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 | 17 | | | 9. Compliance with the eight conditions for the lawful processing of personal information | 17 | | | 10. General guidance regarding sharing of personal information and automated decision-making | 22 | | | 11. Legal effect of the Guidance Note | 22 | | | 12. Contact details | 23 | | | 13. Reference List | 24 | 4 Information Regulator SA Definitions. | Automatic calling machine | means a machine that is able to do automated calls without human intervention where the term is used in section 69(1) of POPIA. | | --- | --- | | Consent | means any voluntary, specific and informed expression of will in terms of which permission is given for the processing of personal information. | | Data subject | means the person to whom personal information relates. | | Direct marketing | means to approach a data subject, either in person or by mail or electronic communication, for the direct or indirect purpose of –
(a) promoting or offering to supply, in the ordinary course of business, any goods or services to the data subject; or
(b) requesting the data subject to make a donation of any kind for any reason. | | Electronic
communication | means any text, voice, sound or image message sent over an electronic communications network which is stored in the network or in the recipient’s terminal equipment until it is collected by the recipient. | | Information matching programme | means the comparison, whether manually or by means of any electronic or other device, of any document that contains personal information about ten or more data subjects with one or more documents that contain personal information of ten or more data subjects, for the purpose of producing or verifying information that may be used for the purpose of taking any action in regard to an identifiable data subject. | | Lead generation | means to seek contact details to use for direct marketing purposes, for example, from the individuals who buy products and services or who show interest or support a cause; or from third parties who sell or rent lists of contact details; or from publicly available sources.
This information could be sought to reach potential new customers (e.g. obtaining contact details of people with which no prior relationship exists); to find new contact details for existing customers (e.g. adding new contact channels for them); or to profile customers (e.g. analysing their behavioural characteristics to find out their preferences) .1 | | Processing | means any operation or activity or any set of operations,
whether or not by automatic means, concerning personal information, including—
(a) the collection, receipt, recording, organisation, collation, storage, updating or modification, retrieval, alteration, consultation or use;
(b) dissemination by means of transmission, distribution or making available in anyother form; or
(c) merging, linking, as well as restriction, degradation, erasure or destruction of information. | | Public body | means any department of state or administration in the national or provincial sphere of government or any municipality in the local sphere of government; or

FAQs

What does POPIA require for direct marketing using personal information?

Direct marketing must comply with the eight conditions for the lawful processing of personal information under POPIA. Processing of personal information for direct marketing must meet the statutory thresholds for lawful processing.

What counts as “direct marketing” under the Guidance Note?

Direct marketing is defined as approaching a data subject in person, by mail, or by electronic communication to promote or offer goods or services in the ordinary course of business, or to request the donation of any kind for any reason.

How can a data subject object to direct marketing communications?

The Guidance Note sets out objection in terms of section 11(3)(b) of POPIA, addressing how objections should be handled for direct marketing activities.

Nov 4, 2026

Uploaded by Hazel