UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA
College of Law
School of Criminal Justice
MODULE CODE & NAME
LCR4805 – Internet Law & Cyber Crime
ASSIGNMENT TITLE
Assignment 1 – Semester 1, 2026
Internet Defamation, Publication, and
ISP Liability in South African Law
Due Date: March 2026
Referencing Style: OSCOLA
Qualification: LLB / BCom Law
This assignment is submitted in partial fulfilment of the
requirements
for the above-mentioned module at the University of South
Africa.
,UNISA | LCR4805 Internet Law: Defamation & ISP Liability
Contents
Scenario Overview 4
1 Question (a): The Meaning of “Publication” in Defamation and When It Oc-
curs [5 marks] 5
1.1 1.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.2 1.2 What “Publication” Means . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3 1.3 Publication in the Digital and Internet Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.4 1.4 When Publication Takes Place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.5 1.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2 Question (b): Would a Secret Language Affect the Element of Publication? [3
marks] 8
2.1 2.1 The Requirement of Comprehensibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.2 2.2 A Genuinely Secret Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.3 2.3 A Partially Secret or Coded Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.4 2.4 The Applicable Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.5 2.5 Answer and Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3 Question (c): Can NetHost Ltd Be Compelled to Reveal the User’s Identity?
[7 marks] 10
3.1 3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.2 3.2 The Constitutional Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.3 3.3 The ECT Act and ISP Liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.3.1 3.3.1 The ECT Act Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.3.2 3.3.2 The Notice-and-Takedown Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.4 3.4 The Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) . . . . . . . . 11
3.5 3.5 RICA and Subscriber Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.6 3.6 Case Law: South African Courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.6.1 3.6.1 Isparta v Richter and Another 2013 (6) SA 529 (GP) . . . . . . . . . 12
3.6.2 3.6.2 NM v Smith (Freedom of Expression Institute as Amicus Curiae) . . 12
3.6.3 3.6.3 Zillie v Johnson and Another . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.7 3.7 Comparative Position: Other Jurisdictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Page 2 of 17
, UNISA | LCR4805 Internet Law: Defamation & ISP Liability
3.8 3.8 The Test a South African Court Will Apply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.9 3.9 Answer and Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Reference List 16
Page 3 of 17
College of Law
School of Criminal Justice
MODULE CODE & NAME
LCR4805 – Internet Law & Cyber Crime
ASSIGNMENT TITLE
Assignment 1 – Semester 1, 2026
Internet Defamation, Publication, and
ISP Liability in South African Law
Due Date: March 2026
Referencing Style: OSCOLA
Qualification: LLB / BCom Law
This assignment is submitted in partial fulfilment of the
requirements
for the above-mentioned module at the University of South
Africa.
,UNISA | LCR4805 Internet Law: Defamation & ISP Liability
Contents
Scenario Overview 4
1 Question (a): The Meaning of “Publication” in Defamation and When It Oc-
curs [5 marks] 5
1.1 1.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.2 1.2 What “Publication” Means . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3 1.3 Publication in the Digital and Internet Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.4 1.4 When Publication Takes Place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.5 1.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2 Question (b): Would a Secret Language Affect the Element of Publication? [3
marks] 8
2.1 2.1 The Requirement of Comprehensibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.2 2.2 A Genuinely Secret Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.3 2.3 A Partially Secret or Coded Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.4 2.4 The Applicable Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.5 2.5 Answer and Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3 Question (c): Can NetHost Ltd Be Compelled to Reveal the User’s Identity?
[7 marks] 10
3.1 3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.2 3.2 The Constitutional Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.3 3.3 The ECT Act and ISP Liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.3.1 3.3.1 The ECT Act Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.3.2 3.3.2 The Notice-and-Takedown Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.4 3.4 The Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) . . . . . . . . 11
3.5 3.5 RICA and Subscriber Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.6 3.6 Case Law: South African Courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.6.1 3.6.1 Isparta v Richter and Another 2013 (6) SA 529 (GP) . . . . . . . . . 12
3.6.2 3.6.2 NM v Smith (Freedom of Expression Institute as Amicus Curiae) . . 12
3.6.3 3.6.3 Zillie v Johnson and Another . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.7 3.7 Comparative Position: Other Jurisdictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Page 2 of 17
, UNISA | LCR4805 Internet Law: Defamation & ISP Liability
3.8 3.8 The Test a South African Court Will Apply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.9 3.9 Answer and Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Reference List 16
Page 3 of 17
