On 1 December 2021, certain parts of the Cybercrimes Act, 19 of 2020 came into full effect. The Cybercrimes Act seeks to address the rise of crimes that are now committed online due to the use of the internet and various emerging technologies. With the move from physical offices to virtual offices as a result of COVID-19, there has been [...]
The recent death of a veteran actor, Patrick Shai set tongues wagging after it was reported that he committed suicide following alleged cyberbullying((Kedibone Modise "Somizi Mhlongo probes if cyberbullying played a part in Patrick Shai’s passing" IOL news 25 January 2022.)) on social media platforms. The cyberbullying allegedly stemmed from the prominent actor’s heated argument with a celebrity. Furthermore, not [...]
The changes to the WhatsApp privacy policy and terms sparked a worldwide uproar with many users migrating to other messaging platforms out of data privacy and security concerns. This article addresses the above concerns by explaining the new changes and what social media users need to know before moving on to other platforms. What are the changes? In an effort [...]
The Advertising Regulatory Board (“the ARB”) is an independent entity established to regulate advertising in South Africa. The ARB administers the Code of Advertising Practice which regulates the content of South African advertising. The ARB’s Code of Advertising Practice sets out the basic principles of what is regarded as acceptable advertising. Although the ARB is a membership-based entity, and only members of the ARB [...]
The media industry in South Africa does have a system of self regulation, however, it is also subject to various regulatory systems in the public sphere. There are a few pieces of legislation and a few regulatory bodies that play a vital role in the industry. The Broadcasting Act[1] encourages the development of South African expression by providing a wide [...]
There is general consensus that, if conducted lawfully and in compliance with privacy and related laws, combating Covid-19 with mobile track and trace technology may be justified. Stakeholders in South Africa, who are normally vociferously outspoken when privacy rights are concerned, have not protested too much about its Contact Tracing Regulations. One aspect that many of us may have overlooked, is [...]
Fake news has caused mass panic in these times of global crisis. It not only makes people believe false things, but also makes them less likely to accept or consume accurate information. On 18 March 2020, government gazette no. 43107 issued regulations in terms of section 27(2) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002. These regulations deal specifically with the Covid [...]
On 10 March, the Competition Commission announced that Vodacom has agreed to reduce their data prices by at least 30% from 1 April 2020. This announcement comes as a result of a data services market inquiry performed by the Competition Commission which focused particularly on the high prices of data provided by telecommunications giants MTN and Vodacom. The report highlighted [...]
In October last year, President Cyril Ramphoasa signed the Films and Publications Amendment Bill (“the Bill”) into law. The Bill first entered the National Assembly in 2015, but not before it was widely criticised as archaic, vague and broad enough to include everything from hard-core pornography to cat videos on Youtube. The last four years before the Bill’s enactment, have [...]
On Monday, 6 January 2020, this was posted on Facebook: By Tuesday, 7 January 2020, Big Blue responded: It’s incredibly disheartening to think that employees or department heads who could have spotted this, and prevented the shirt from ending up on Big Blues’ shelves, failed to do so. Despite the awareness people are trying to create around the unjust treatment [...]
