Law firm Webber Wentzel Bowens (WWB) will host an ICT law conference in Johannesburg later this month.
The event, on 18 November, will summarise and analyse developments in ICT law. According to WWB, there have been numerous developments in ICT law that will have a material impact on both the ICT industry and businesses generally.
"In the past few months, there have been many current and proposed developments impacting directly and indirectly on the ICT industry," says Robby Coelho, senior associate at WWB.
"It was becoming difficult for people to keep track so we identified the need for a conference where these developments could be summarised and their impact analysed by speakers who are directly involved in their implementation. The conference is an opportunity for industry players to identify and analyse the potential impact."
Coelho will kick off the event with a review of these recent developments in ICT. He will discuss workplace and interception issues, consumer protection and data protection, as well as the ICT empowerment charter and the second national operator (SNO) licensing process.
"The developments we are talking about are diverse and they relate to a range of issues," says Coelho. "But the most notable are the recent ministerial determinations of dates, the so-called liberalisation announcements, and also the SNO licensing process - with its threatened court actions and attempts to identify shareholders.
"Those involved in the industry are still trying to analyse and come to terms with these developments," says Coelho. "In addition, it seems these developments will have a spill-over effect on all businesses and not just on those directly involved in the ICT industry."
The topics covered will also include the Independent Communications Authority of SA`s (ICASA`s) perspective, which will be presented by Dr Tracy Cohen, counsellor at ICASA.
Phatang Nkhereanye, manager of government relations and regulatory affairs at Transtel, will cover the SNO`s perspective on recent developments, and Ant Brooks, regulatory chairman at the Internet Service Providers` Association, will look at what these developments mean for the industry.
Further topics include computer crime and computer-related crime, which will cover the Scorpions` practices when monitoring, investigating and prosecuting crimes involving use of computers.
IT Personality of the Year 2004 Mthunzi Mdwaba will also take part in the conference, discussing the ICT empowerment charter and explaining the way forward.
Authentication and cryptography will be the last topics of the day, and Mike Silber from the South African Post Office will discuss the organisation`s role in authentication.
For more information, contact Dominique van Arkel on (011) 530-5728 or e-mail her at dominiquev@wwb.co.za.
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