Abstract:
Information privacy is becoming a cornerstone issue of the 21st century, mainly because
of the explosion of information technology. The main purpose of the current study is to
investigate South Africans’ awareness of the new Protection of Personal Information
Act, 4 of 2013 and also to explore the levels of information privacy concerns that
individuals have, as they relate to the principles outlined in the Act. In addition, the
study investigates several group differences across the information privacy concern
dimensions by means of MANOVA testing. The findings from a convenience sample
of adults suggest that data collection, control and unauthorised secondary use are
some of the main information privacy concern dimensions. The results could help
government and businesses to understand how individuals’ concerns relate to the
PoPI Act, highlighting the importance of compliance with the new Act.
