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 [...]
Introduction If we put aside the misery around Covid-19 for a moment, we can notice that a lot of exciting developments have taken place and are still taking place in South Africa’s legislative landscape. We are 5 months away from POPIA[1] coming into full effect. By 1 July of this year, both private and public companies, organisations and institutions will [...]
What is Decentralised Finance? Decentralised Finance (DeFi for short) is a financial system built on public blockchains such as BitCoin and Ethereum. Blockchains refer to a list of data records that work as a decentralised digital lender. The data in a specific blockchain is organised into blocks, which is chronologically arranged and secured by cryptography. The oldest and safest blockchain [...]
The spread of COVID-19 has negatively influenced the output of work at a global level. It has affected nearly every sector and has ultimately halted cross border trade. As the coronavirus unfolds across countries, many firms have adopted a policy which allows their employees to work remotely. However, considering the number of law firms that are wholly reliant on paper [...]
Within the past month, we have gone from mainly needing to authenticate and verify documents through a physical (wet-ink) signature to an era where the need to authenticate and verify documents online is inevitable. We have effectively moved from paper-based certification and verification to electronic authentication This effectively, all in a bid to safeguard against the COVID – 19 pandemic, [...]
By now, everyone knows that certain constitutional rights can be limited in order to serve a public interest such as public health. However, concerns around privacy protection keep mounting, especially so with the implementation of lockdown regulations on contact tracing.[1] Contact tracing is being implemented on a global scale with countries leveraging different technologies to prevent the spread of COVID-19. [...]
In 2010 the notion of the use of electronic communication by courts was a rumour in South Africa’s judicial system. It’s interesting to note that, because of an unprecedented consequence of the global pandemic, the courts, like the other branches of state power, have taken drastic measures to reduce the local transmission of Covid - 19. The courts are hoping [...]
We live in an ever globalised and connected world where it is possible to buy someone lunch across borders using a website or a mobile app. As the sale of goods and services from website and mobile apps increase, the appetite for online shopping continues to grow. However, various legal considerations should be made when selling goods or services online. [...]
Section 32(1) of the Constitution entrenches the fundamental right of access to information. This section provides a statutory right to request any record held by the state, as well as access to records held by public and private bodies. The Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (“PAIA”) enables people to gain access to information held by both [...]
Human error is the primary cause of personal data breaches[1]. The consequences of a data breach can be detrimental to a company and includes, not only direct damages and sanctions, but also substantial reputational harm. The mere occurrence of, as well as the costs and consequences of data breaches and data incidents could be drastically reduced by having appropriate awareness [...]
