Legal Articles and Guides

The Advertising Standards Authority has issued a lengthy ruling about the three f-words: effing, fricking and fucking, concluding that 'fricking' was child-friendly. Times Select says the 1 569-word ruling, made after analysing the Oxford Dictionary, was in response to a complaint by Meryl Turner about a radio advert for on 5FM for Webuycars.co.za that included the phrase 'fricking painless'.

Although raising concern about the need to balance the right to freedom of expression with cultural rights and his insistence that the filmmakers’ rights to freedom of expression could not override the rights to dignity of Xhosa people, Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) Judge Joseph Raulinga has ruled that the appeal tribunal process for Inxeba (The Wound) was legally flawed, and should be reviewed and set aside.

SuperSport and most of their black presenters and commentators have resolved issues raised in a letter from MVMT Attorneys – leaked in the media at the weekend – which accused the channel of racism and victimisation. Among the accusations were that their white counterparts have been handed hefty long-term contracts with guaranteed pay, while most of the black presenters and commentators are working without contracts, notes a report on the IoL site.

Mweb and Telkom have had to withdraw advertisements that were misleading on the promise of benefits. A TimesLIVE report notes Paul van Ramesdonk had lodged a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) against a Telkom advertisement which states ‘Storage: 32 GB‚ 4GB RAM’.

Vodacom will spend R1.1bn on an employee share ownership scheme as part of its R17.5bn broad-based BEE deal – the biggest BEE deal in the telecommunications sector. A Business Day report says the scheme will benefit 4 637 permanent employees in SA.

A television advert featuring a white woman wearing braids in a hair salon filled with black women, was not racist nor offensive, the Advertising Standards Authority has ruled. Two viewers complained that the advert, featuring models wearing clothes by online retailer Superbalist, suggested that it was a bad thing for a white woman to be wearing braids, and was therefore racist, notes TimesLIVE.

The Advertising Standards Authority of SA (ASA) has instructed its members to reject advertising for Herbex Fat Burn for Men products. A Saturday Dispatch report says this comes after consumer activist Dr Harris Steinman complained about an animated television commercial featuring the products.

The Advertising Standards Authority has dismissed a complaint about a McDonald's SA television advert 'misrepresenting' the late singer Prince, who was a strict vegan. Jacob Mogano argued the fast-food giant had no authority to decide how the late pop star should be represented, notes TimesLIVE.

The Advertising Standards Authority has dismissed a complaint about sex toys being advertised in airport toilet cubicles, TimesLIVE notes. Complainant Natalia Lumgair, whose child saw an advert by Matildas.co.za posters when they were in a cubicle together, said the posters were highly sexual and unsuitable for airports where children might see them.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled that a Shoprite TV commercial was not ‘racism at its best’. A TimesLIVE report says in the commercial, a black girl talks about her future career choice in front of her class. ‘When I grow up‚ I want to help people save money. I want to work at Shoprite like my mommy,’ she announces.

Lobby groups have vowed to continue opposing Gupta-owned ANN7’s bid for a new licence, despite the channel rebranding to distance itself from the family, notes a Business Day report. Mzwanele Manyi, owner of Afrotone Media Holdings, said ANN7 would change its name to Afro Worldview on 30 April. The New Age (TNA) newspaper would be rebranded as Afro Voice and its editorial policy would be in line with the press code.

Webafrica has agreed to amend its billboard at a Cape Town school advertising 'effing fast Internet' after complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority, says TimesLIVE. The 'eff' will be obscured on the advert at Trafalgar High in District Six and replaced with 'ing fast Internet'.

Lobby groups have called on Icasa to reject an application by the Gupta-backed Infinity Media for an individual, commercial free-to-air television broadcasting service licence. A Business Day report notes in February, Icasa issued a new invitation for Infinity Media to apply after the regulator had rejected a previous application from the company and others in 2014.

Herbex has been found to be in violation of the advertising standards code for using unjustified testimonials claiming efficacy of its Attack the Fat product in an advertisement. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled against the advertisement, and will instruct its members not to run it, reports GroundUp.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) believes concerned consumers will read the nutritional information on the back of food packaging and not take claims on the front at face value, says a TimesLIVE report. ‘If the consumer has a particular reason for not eating sugar‚ they will consult the ingredient list‚’ it said in a recent ruling.