Given many entities’ proactive compliance with the provisions of the Protection of Personal Information Act despite it not being enforceable, companies should be considering the impact of POPI (or data privacy laws with wide reach) when they carry out due diligence investigations. Depending on the nature of the transaction, the due diligence process can involve
Rosalind Lake (ZA)
Competition laws require online platforms in the ‘gig economy’ to protect SME and black suppliers
By Rosalind Lake (ZA) on
The Competition Act was amended in February 2020 to introduce new rules to protect small, medium and black-owned suppliers in specific sectors (the buyer power provisions). These include the e-commerce and online services sectors (the gig economy).
On 18 May 2020 the Competition Commission issued its guidelines on the buyer power provisions. These guidelines set…
Sign of the times: Electronic signatures in South Africa
By Lisa Ellefsen, Steve Chemaly & Rosalind Lake (ZA) on
Are electronic signatures valid? It depends: the parties must explicitly agree to the use of electronic signatures and must agree a signing method which complies with the requirements in the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 2002 (ECTA).
What constitutes an electronic signature and whether such signatures are valid in South Africa has become a question…
Financial Service Provider has to pay back customer who was hacked
By Rosalind Lake (ZA) & Priyanka Naidoo on
On 18 March 2020 the Supreme Court of Appeal found that funds were improperly transferred by a financial services provider (FSP) when it received fraudulent instructions from a hacker posing as its client because there was no signature on the instruction as required by the mandate. The FSP therefore acted without receiving proper instructions and…
SCA: When is an electronic signature a signature?
By Rosalind Lake (ZA) & Priyanka Naidoo on
A signature communicated through an electronic medium like email correspondence is not a binding signature unless agreed to by the parties. In the absence of such agreement, a signature will only be valid if it appears in manuscript form regardless of the medium of communication. When entering into contracts, explicit provision must be made regarding…
Cyber risk during COVID-19 outbreak
By Priyanka Naidoo & Rosalind Lake (ZA) on
A common response by businesses to the spread of COVID-19 has been to implement measures that require social distancing and remote working. To ensure business continuity, some of these measures rely on the availability of technology like VPN access, as well as the use of online platforms to hold team meetings, client calls, vendor engagement,…
Penalties for failing to notify mergers will increase in South Africa
By Rosalind Lake (ZA) & Candice Upfold on
In March 2019, the Competition Commission published its latest guidelines for the determination of administrative penalties for failure to notify mergers and implementation of mergers contrary to the Competition Act 1998.
The highest penalty to date for a failure to notify is R10 million. The methodology in the Guidelines could result in much higher figures…
Buyer beware – new competition laws restricting dominant firm purchases
By Rosalind Lake (ZA) on
The Competition Amendment Act was signed into law on 13 February 2019. The Act’s aim is to ‘open up new opportunities for many South Africans to enter various sectors of the economy and compete on an equal footing’. This sentiment is the spirit throughout the Act and the draft regulations that are undergoing an extensive …
Competition Amendment Bill proposes significant changes to Market Inquiries
The Competition Amendment Bill proposes giving the Competition Commission broader powers, with more substantial remedies and the threshold for initiating a market inquiry has been lowered. Key changes include the expansion of the scope of market inquiries, the provision of a notification and consultation process with sector regulators and the granting of substantial powers to…
Competition Amendment Bill proposes tougher penalties
By Rosalind Lake (ZA) & Erwyn Durman on
The Competition Amendment Bill of 2018 introduces harsher penalty provisions which increase the enforcement powers of the competition authorities for purposes of deterring anti-competitive conduct.
Removal of the ‘yellow card’
Currently, the Competition Act only allows for administrative penalties to be imposed in relation to certain prohibited practices if the conduct has been repeated by…