LCR4805 ASSIGNMENT 1 SEMESTER 1 2025 – FULLY ANSWERED

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LCR4805 Assignment 1 Semester 1 | Due 27 March 2025. All questions answered. Question 1 Andrew works for a pharmaceutical company, LIFE (Pty) Ltd. Andrew has an interest in writing. In his spare time, he writes articles for an online news website, Community News. A few months ago, gas exploded in the area where Gas – It (Pty) Ltd is located and damaged a few houses in the community. Andrew on the Community news website, published an article (which he wrote from his office computer) about the explosion. In the article Andrew alleges that the explosion was due to the negligence of Gas – It (Pty) Ltd. He lists several issues, including a lack of proper maintenance and security measures by the company. The article named “Nick” as the managing director of Gas – It (Pty) Ltd at the time. This article was upsetting to many readers and in a short period of time the article had accumulated more than 100 comments – many of the comments were insulting and threatened Nick with violence. A month after publication, Nick sent a request to Community News to remove the comments and demanded payment of R350 000.00 in damages allegedly suffered by the company. Nick consults you as the company’s attorney for legal advice. Can Andrew ’s employer, LIFE Pty Ltd, be held vicariously liable for Andrew’s conduct, since Andrew wrote the alleged defamatory article on his office computer? In your answer refer to applicable law. (10) Question 2 During the recruitment of new staff, an employer checks the profiles of the candidates on various social networks and includes information from these networks in the screening process. The employer has not informed the candidates about this. (a) Does the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 allow an employer to include information of candidates found on social networks when screening candidates? Discuss. (10) (b) Does the use of information found in a candidate’s inbox on a social network amount to an interception of a communication as defined in the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-related Information Act 70 of 2002? Discuss. (10)