King III has confirmed what we have always known. Organisations must comply with all applicable ICT laws. Due to the pervasiveness of ICT in business today, this obligation has become all the more relevant. This applies equally to any other organisation, government body, or entity. This is nothing new – you have to comply with the law.
King III and ICT Laws
King III™ also states the following:
- The board (or its equivalent) and each individual director (or the equivalent) should have a working understanding of the effect of the applicable laws, rules, codes and standards on the company and its business.
- The induction and ongoing training programmes of directors should incorporate an overview of and any changes to applicable laws, rules, codes and standards.
- Directors should sufficiently familiarise themselves with the general content of applicable laws, rules, codes and standards to discharge their legal duties.
- The board should understand the context of the law, and how other applicable laws interact with it.
Who is responsible for complying with ICT Laws?
Under King III™, the board (or its equivalent) is responsible for the company’s compliance with ICT laws. King III™ says that the board should delegate to management the implementation of an effective compliance framework and processes, but the buck stops with the board. What stood out for me is that a director cannot say “Oh, the legal department is responsible for that!“. Each director needs to have a working understanding.
Ignorance of the law is no excuse
Mission impossible
Many directors feel that this is an impossible task. They are really busy and have a million things to do each day. There are so many responsibilities on the shoulders of directors. At the same time, many feel that parliament has gone mad and is creating laws faster than ever before. Especially with regard to ICT, there are various new laws that apply to Information, Communications and Technology. These laws are often tricky and, because they deal with intangible things, are difficult to get to grips with.
How do I gain a working understanding of all applicable ICT laws?
Solution found
This is why we created the Michalsons website. The aim is to assist you educate yourself on ICT laws and facilitate your compliance with various ICT laws – thereby having the peace of mind that you are always in the know and have discharged your duties.
We will tell you about the ICT laws that exist and help you determine whether they are applicable to your company. Not in long, difficult to read legal journal articles that are impossible to read. Punchy, practical, jargon-free, and actionable legal guidance. It will be like you have your own personal ICT lawyer on call whenever you need them, to say “I’ve got five minutes before the board meeting, tell me about the monitoring law and whether it applies to our company.”
Be the King or Queen of the board room
We’ll give you a short to the point answer based on our insight, expertise and experience in ICT law. We have focused on ICT law for 20 years and Michalsons is recognised as the top IT law firm in South Africa. We are experts in the field of ICT. We’ll give you what you need to know – not all the fluff. That one line that will make YOU look like the King or Queen in the board room.
