Guide to South Africa (POPIA) Cookie Consent Compliance

Complete technical implementation guide for South Africa privacy regulations. Learn about consent requirements, banner elements, record keeping, and technical specifications.

Opt-in Children's Privacy Rules

Summary

This guide provides comprehensive technical implementation requirements for South Africa (POPIA). Consent or legitimate interest required; direct marketing requires opt-in consent.

This jurisdiction requires an opt-in consent model (prior consent), meaning websites must obtain explicit user consent before placing non-essential cookies or similar tracking technologies. Users must actively accept cookies through clear consent mechanisms.

Additional requirements for this jurisdiction include: special protections and consent mechanisms for children's personal data.

Website owners and operators subject to these regulations must implement compliant cookie consent banners, maintain proper consent records, and ensure their tracking technologies respect user privacy choices. This guide outlines all technical requirements needed to achieve compliance.

Key Requirements Overview

Consent Model

Opt-in (Prior Consent)

Consent Lifespan

12 months

Default State

Off (Non-Essential Cookies)

Cookie Walls

Discouraged

Technical Requirements

Prior consent for non-essential cookies

Purpose granularity required

Equal prominence for accept/reject buttons

No pre-checked boxes allowed

Dark patterns prohibited

Proof of consent required

Local storage covered by regulation

Implementation Guidance

No cookie-specific rule but direct marketing via any method requires opt-in consent. Best practice: obtain consent for profiling/tracking cookies.

Special Protections

Children's Privacy

Competent person (parent/guardian) must consent for children.

Sensitive Data

Prohibition on processing special personal information without consent.

Record Keeping Requirements

Required Consent Record Fields

For each consent action, you must maintain records containing:

Timestamp ISO
User Choices By Purpose
Policy Version

Retention Period: 12 months minimum

Re-consent Trigger: Material Change Or New Purpose

CookieChimp handles all of this automatically. Our platform maintains comprehensive consent records including all required fields, timestamps, consent strings, IP addresses, user agents, and more. Records are securely stored and easily exportable for compliance audits. Learn more about our consent management

Legal References & Resources

Official legal documents and regulatory guidance for this jurisdiction:

Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA)

https://www.justice.gov.za/inforeg/

Legal Disclaimer: For engineering implementation guidance only. Not legal advice. This guide provides technical implementation guidance only and should not be considered legal advice. Privacy laws are complex and frequently updated. We recommend consulting with qualified legal counsel to ensure full compliance with applicable regulations.