South Africa: Consumer Protection

South Africa's National Consumer Commission Opt-Out Registry introduces a dual compliance framework that requires organisations to satisfy both POPIA's personal information processing requirements and the CPA's pre-emptive marketing blocks. Businesses must fundamentally restructure their technology, data management, and operational processes to prevent prohibited marketing communications from reaching consumers who have exercised their right to opt out.

As artificial intelligence shopping agents evolve from simple search tools to autonomous purchasing assistants, South African businesses face critical questions about data collection, consumer protection, and legal responsibility that existing frameworks like POPIA were never designed to address. How should organisations navigate AI disclosure requirements, handle voluntarily shared sensitive information, and establish governance protocols when their chatbots can independently compare products, personalise

South African authorities have escalated their fight against counterfeit trade with a major enforcement operation in Bloemfontein that resulted in the seizure of over R5 million worth of fake goods. The coordinated action, involving multiple government agencies, confiscated thousands of items ranging from clothing and accessories to pharmaceuticals, underscoring the commercial and health threats posed by illicit trade networks.

As telecommunications companies in Africa explore banking licences and payment platforms begin offering credit alongside debit services, the traditional boundaries separating banks from non-bank entities are dissolving. When does a mobile money platform cross the threshold into banking territory, and how should regulators respond when the customer journey becomes simpler but the underlying legal architecture grows more complex?

South Africa's buy-now-pay-later sector faces heightened regulatory scrutiny as the Reserve Bank flags potential household financial stress risks. As BNPL products blur the lines between payment innovation and consumer credit, the debate centers on whether current regulatory frameworks adequately address affordability assessments, bureau reporting, and consumer protection in this rapidly growing market.

The Supreme Court of Appeal has resolved a critical jurisdictional question affecting credit providers nationwide by clarifying whether the High Court retains authority to adjudicate shortfall claims after repossession and sale of goods under credit agreements.

South Africa's Information Regulator has issued an enforcement notice against Central Johannesburg TVET College for multiple violations of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), including failure to register...

On the night of 13 October 2014, two Grade 12 learners— B, aged 18, and O, aged 17 — drowned while attending a school revision camp. The camp had been organised to assist learners in their Matric examination preparation, and no provision had been made for swimming.

Deepfakes and AI-generated manipulation are no longer fringe tech. In a school environment, a learner or staff member’s face can be pulled from a sports photo, a class video...

South African Competition Law Updates...

ENSafrica's latest legal bulletin examines critical regulatory shifts across Africa, from South Africa's mandatory monthly opt-out cleansing under amended CPA rules to Rwanda's new VAT framework for cross-border digital services. The collection addresses constitutional interpretation in Ghana, AI policy governance failures, merger threshold updates, and emerging challenges in crypto regulation and prediction markets.

On 15 April 2026, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Mr Mpho Parks Tau MP, gazetted the Consumer Protection Act Amendment Regulations, 2026...