The Ban of TikTok: The US is worried, should you be?
From 2020, TikTok has become a global social media sensation. TikTok is an app where users share short form videos of them dancing, singing, vlogging, and participating in challenges etc. However, recently, the United States, Europe, and Canada have named this app as a threat to their national security and are making efforts to ban more...
Social Media Policy – Do we really need one?
Social media is essentially the online community where your customers, partners, suppliers, and stakeholders camp out to share information, promote products and services, and exchange opinions and experiences (possibly about your organisation). As an organisation, you must recognise the limits and risks of social media, and how it can affect your brand, public image, and more...
More transparency or more trouble? A look at the Companies Amendment Bill, 2021
If passed, the Companies Amendment Bill will be the first substantive amendment to the Companies Act since it came into force in 2011. The Bill includes a contentious requirement for large companies to disclose their executive remuneration policy to the shareholders for approval including a ratio comparing the compensation of the highest-earning employees with that more...
Electronic signature of sale of immovable property agreements – what’s new?
If you asked a year ago whether you could sign a sale of immovable property agreement electronically, the short answer would have been that an electronically signed agreement of sale is not valid or binding on the parties. With the swift advances in technology, and more people than ever working remotely, there has been a more...
Bool Smuts v Herman Botha – Right to Privacy v Freedom of Expression
On 10 January 2022 the Supreme Court of Appeal handed down a landmark judgment in the matter of Smuts and Another v Botha and Another (887/2020) [2022] ZASCA 3 (10 January 2022) which gives us an inside look at how our privacy laws are applied by the courts. Summary In this matter, Bool Smuts, a more...
A step-by-step guide to having your documents commissioned
“Please, go back to the commissioner of oaths and repeat the process – you skipped a page!” – do these words sound familiar? Having documents commissioned should be a relatively simple task. In practice, however, minor mistakes, like a missed initial, can undermine the integrity of the entire process. Unfortunately, this is often only cured more...
M Booysen v J Dolley-Major (Case No: 5043/2021) Landmark case – Naming an alleged rapist on social media
We are all aware of the serious legal consequences of defamatory posts on social media, but as discussed in my article on defamation and the elements that need to be proven, it is an intricate area of law and there is a constant weighing of individual rights by the courts. This case is an excellent more...
Let’s talk about defamation of character…again
Why do we have to continue talking about this? Defamation of character has become one of the most frequent issues that clients raise with attorneys. Either they are being defamed on social media or are accused of defaming someone else or a business on social media. It would be easy to keep blaming it on more...
Liquidations: Compulsory and Voluntary
A company can be liquidated regardless of whether it is solvent or insolvent. If a company is insolvent, it is unable to satisfy its debts as and when they come due (this is referred to as commercial insolvency). If the company is solvent, it has the option of being liquidated for reasons other than that more...
The consequences of the Cybercrimes Act on Social Media (ab)use
The President has finally signed the Cybercrimes Bill into law after a long legislative process. The Cybercrimes Act (the Act) focuses mainly on criminalising the interference with computer systems and data, which is described in more detail in Andrew Marshall’s article on the subject. However, the Act also has bearing on the way we use more...
When your neighbour decides to renovate: what are your rights?
Imagine this scenario – you wake up one morning to the loud beeping of industrial trucks reversing cargo into your neighbour’s driveway, the shouting of labourers fill your ears as scaffolding clatters, mechanical lifts are fired up and the angle grinders shriek into the cold morning air. Dazed and confused, you stumble to the kitchen more...
Online Gaming – the risks and dangers
Gaming online is not new; it’s actually been around since the 1960s. However, new technology and high-speed internet connections have certainly helped playing online games like Call of Duty and Fortnite become the popular hobby it is today. Online gaming can also refer to online gambling, for example, casino-like games, lotteries, and betting on sporting more...