It is crucial for countries to propose rules that would require online platforms to take proactive measures to detect and remove illegal content and become more transparent about their content moderation policies.
Against this backdrop, the AGA-Africa Programme partnered with the Department of Private Law and the Centre For IP Law at the University Of Pretoria on a highly engaging webinar dubbed ‘Platform Liability in E-Commerce: Consumer Be Aware: The Wild World of E-Commerce’ held on 28th June, 2023.
The webinar brought together government regulators, government institutions and agencies, legal professionals and national, regional and international subject matter experts from South Africa, Mauritius and the United States.
The objective of the webinar was to facilitate strengthening of cross-border and regional efforts relating to innovation, e-commerce and the effects on consumers and consumer law. The webinar was also aimed at providing participants a platform to exchange information and knowledge on recent trends and best practices in an African context.
Kim Robinson, AGA-Africa Programme Country Coordinator for South Africa delivered the opening remarks on behalf of Markus Green, Board Member, AGA-Africa Programme followed by a keynote presentation by Stephen Cobb, Former Deputy, Attorney General of Virginia.
The webinar was moderated by Sylvia Papadopoulos, Associate Professor, Department of Mercantile Law, University of Pretoria and John Ukegbu, Senior Staff Attorney, Northeast New Jersey Legal Services and facilitated by Jacqueline Fick, Chief Executive Officer, VizStrat Solutions, Brandon Rutter, Solo Attorney in Entertainment and Business Transactional Law, Brandon Rutter Law LLC and Michael Adjei, International Business Development Executive at Orama Corporate Services.
AGA-Africa Programme Country Coordinator for South Africa Kim Robinson brought the interactive webinar to a close.
Workshop Outcomes
Through this workshop the participants:
- Enhanced their knowledge on the new laws and regulations in South Africa that seek to hold online platforms more accountable for the content that they host or transmit.
- Were equipped with knowledge and skills on platform liability regime from the Mauritius and South African perspectives.
- Gained a comprehensive understanding of responsibilities of practitioners and regulators in strengthening consumer protection in the digital economy to combat distribution of counterfeit goods.
