In June 2021, Cabinet passed the South African Broadcasting Corporation (“SABC”) Bill for public comment. However, the SABC is unhappy with the Bill in its current form, stating that the Bill does not provide for adequate financing of the Corporation because it is struggling to collect TV licence fees. South Africans have been increasingly resistant towards paying annual TV licence fees in [...]
The month of October, known as the Cybersecurity Awareness Month, comes at a time when South Africa is reeling from the effects of a plethora of security breaches and cyber attacks that have plagued the country since the beginning of 2021. The most recent security breaches and cyber attacks targeted Transnet and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. Section [...]
The Plascon-Evans rule was the ‘order of the day’ in this year’s interview proceedings conducted by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC). The JSC was interviewing prospective candidates who had been shortlisted for appointments as Judges in our courts. One of the recurring questions was for the candidates to explain the Plascon-Evans rule and when it is used in court. This [...]
Telkom wants to interdict returning emergency spectrum to ICASA: Why Telkom (MTN and Vodacom) losing is in the public interest Telkom launched legal proceedings against South Africa’s telecommunications regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (“ICASA”), in early October 2021. Telkom wants to interdict returning emergency spectrum to ICASA. ICASA had licensed this spectrum to Telkom, MTN, Vodacom [...]
Today marks the inaugural Global Encryption Day. This is an initiative by the Global Encryption Coalition (“GEC''). The GEC is composed of the Democracy & Technology, Global Partners Digital, the Internet Society and over 180 organisational members including civil society organisations, business and trade associations, and individual members including technical and cybersecurity experts and academics. The initiative is an opportunity for businesses, civil society organisations, technologists, and internet users worldwide to show why encryption matters and why people [...]
On 4 June 2021, the European Commission adopted two new sets of Standard Contractual Clauses (“2021 SCCs”). The 2021 SCC’s will replace the old SCC’s adopted in 2010. The adoption of new SCC’s is to reflect the changes to European Union (“EU”) data privacy law, under the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 ("GDPR") and the Schrems II decision((Case C-311/18 Data Protection Commissioner [...]
On 17 May 2021, the Competition Commission officially launched the Online Intermediation Platforms Market Inquiry (“Inquiry”). The Inquiry was initiated in terms of section 43 B (1) (a) of the Competition Act 89 of 1998 (as amended). The purpose of the Inquiry is to act as a proactive measure for the Competition Commission to get a deeper understanding of the online markets operating in South Africa. The [...]
If you don’t comply with a Rule 41A of the Uniform Rules of Court, you run the risk of being stopped dead in your tracks or being turned away by a Registrar when attending court to issue summons or a notice of motion. The primary purpose of Rule 41A is to ensure that courts are not inundated with civil matters that could be resolved between the parties by means of mediation. What Rule 41A entails and how to comply Rule 41A was introduced to ensure that in every new [...]
Today, 28 September 2021, the world commemorates International Day for Universal Access to Information. It was declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation on 17 November 2015 and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 28 September 2019. This day highlights the importance of access to information laws, and their implementation worldwide in order to promote [...]
What happened with WhatsApp? The case that Max Schrems filed against WhatsApp back in December 2018 has been finalized at last. WhatsApp was recently fined by the Irish Data Protection Commission an amount of 225 million Euros, which is over 3,7 billion Rands. The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) is the equivalent of the Information Regulator in South Africa. The [...]
