Sinal Govender (SA)

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How to use social media – and the consequences if you step out of line

Photo of Sinal Govender (SA)Photo of Lovanya MoodleyBy Sinal Govender (SA) and Lovanya Moodley on Posted in Employment and labor, Social media policies
In South Africa, employees are under the mistaken belief that what they do in their time away from the office, specifically on social media, is private and beyond the reach of their employer’s control. They fail to consider that they could face disciplinary action for their online rants and comments. This could be fatal to … Continue reading

Private social media posts can get you kicked out of university and worse

Photo of Sinal Govender (SA)By Sinal Govender (SA) on Posted in Employment and labor
Each year Harvard University, one of the world’s most prestigious universities, receives over 30,000 applications from prospective students for about 2,000 places in its first year class. Recently, ten of those successful applicants, due to graduate in 2021, had their offers of admission revoked before they set foot onto campus.  The reason?  The content of … Continue reading

WhatsApp group administrators may be responsible for members’ content

Photo of Megan Claassens (SA)Photo of Sinal Govender (SA)By Megan Claassens (SA) and Sinal Govender (SA) on Posted in Defamation
In India, an administrator of a Whatsapp group has recently faced arrest, following the sharing of what is alleged to be a defamatory photo-shopped image of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.  South Africa has yet to test the liability of a group admin with regard to what is shared on their group.  However, given the rise … Continue reading

Twitter and hate speech policy

Photo of Sinal Govender (SA)By Sinal Govender (SA) on Posted in General
This year seems to have started off in much the same way as 2016 ended. Celebrities, politicians, and everyday people have flocked to social media to provide their commentary on everything from global crises to envelope sagas. Towards the end of 2016, Twitter announced that no person is above their policies, particularly in respect of … Continue reading

Socially responsible advertising

Photo of Sinal Govender (SA)By Sinal Govender (SA) on Posted in General
On April 6, 2016, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority considered a complaint made against Guccio Gucci SpA regarding a video, which originally appeared on the website at www.thetimes.co.uk.  The advert featured several models dancing in a house, clothed in the apparel of the global fashion brand, and the complaint centred around the physical appearance of … Continue reading
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