Many people around the world reacted strongly against "cyberbullying" or cyber-bullying after the suicide of Megan Meier in 2006. She committed suicide after alleged online harassment by a fictitious "teen boy" who turned out to be the mother of a [...]
Many merchants receive payment from their customers via debit order. In South Africa (with its culture of late payment) it is a great way to receive payment from customers. The level of non-payment and the costs of chasing payment are [...]
Is the sale of on-line products (for example software downloaded directly from a website) subject to taxation? South Africa previously had a predominantly source based tax system but adopted a resident based tax system some few years ago. The sale [...]
This is not expressly prohibited by any law, but may possibly amount to a contravention of the provisions of the Copyright Act 98 of 1978. Broadly speaking, copyright is the right given to the owner of a copyrighted work not [...]
When would a website provider be liable for mistakes in information which it provides online? Can it avoid that liability? The general principle is that a website provider must ensure that the content on the website is accurate and will [...]
Section 43(5) of the ECT Act requires the supplier in an electronic transaction to "utilise a payment system that is sufficiently secure with reference to accepted technological standards at the time of the transaction and the type of transaction concerned." [...]
The ECT Act introduced to South Africa formal legal recognition of electronic commerce. It provides for the facilitation and regulation of electronic communications and transactions, including issues relating to electronic signatures, electronic evidence and computer crimes. Its primary objective is [...]
How can the government's attitude and approach to internet issues best be described? During both the pre and post-apartheid periods, the South African government embarked on a mission to formulate information and communications technology policies. There have been multiple ICT [...]
The Labour Court (in Jafta v Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (D204/07) ZALC 84 (1 July 2008)) has recently confirmed that you can conclude a contract by email and SMS. You can contract electronically. This is not really anything new. Since the [...]
Chapter VII of the ECT Act deals with consumer protection and applies only to electronic transactions. The following sections of the ECT Act of of particular relevance regards a consumer's right of cancellation: Scope of application 42. (1) This Chapter [...]
