LCR4805
Assignment 1
(ANSWERS)
Semester 2
2023
ADMIN
[COMPANY NAME]
, QUEST ION 1 Shortly after a bomb explosion in London, an unknown person
posted messages onto a bulletin board falsely implicating that a certain Mr X,
who lives in Cape Town, had something to do with the terrorist attack. The
bulletin board is hosted by West-World Internet Ltd, an Internet Service
Provider registered in South Africa. Answer the following questions. Discuss in
detail by referring to applicable case law, legislation and academic
commentary. (a) Mr X wants to notify West-World Internet Ltd that the
messages are defamatory and request the Internet service provider to remove
them. What legal steps would you advise X to take to lodge his complaint? (b)
After Mr X lodged his complaint, West-World Internet Ltd failed to remove the
defamatory messages. A week later Mr X filed a lawsuit against West-World
Internet Ltd for defamation. What defence or defences, if any, would the
defendant, West-World Internet Ltd, be able to rely on? Discuss in detail by
referring to relevant case law and legislation as well as the position in the
United Kingdom. (c) Can West-World Internet Ltd be compelled to reveal the
name and address of the user that has placed the defamatory messages on
the Internet? Substantiate your answer. (d) Mr X also found out that
defamatory messages of him were circulated amongst certain email users. In
order to institute a claim for defamation Mr X must prove that publication took
place. Discuss what the term “publication” means in this instance and explain
when it will take place. Will it make any difference to your answer if the emails
are written in a secret language? (6) (e) Find 6 (six) sources of law on the
Internet which you can use to substantiate your opinion to your client and
indicate why you have decided on a specific internet document – in other
words, which aspect(s) of your point of view it substantiates. You can either
attach the first and last page of these sources, OR you can list the sources
including their full details (author, title, date retrieved, etc and the URL
references) so that these sources can be traced on the Internet. (6) PLEASE
NOTE: At least half of these sources should be articles obtained from law
journals. To find sources from the library’s databases, you can make use of
the LibGuides link: TOTAL MARKS [20]
(a) To lodge a complaint about defamatory messages posted on a bulletin board hosted
by West-World Internet Ltd, Mr. X should follow these legal steps:
1. Identify the Defamatory Content: First, Mr. X should clearly identify the specific
messages that he believes are defamatory. Document and save evidence of the
messages, including timestamps, usernames, and the content itself.
Assignment 1
(ANSWERS)
Semester 2
2023
ADMIN
[COMPANY NAME]
, QUEST ION 1 Shortly after a bomb explosion in London, an unknown person
posted messages onto a bulletin board falsely implicating that a certain Mr X,
who lives in Cape Town, had something to do with the terrorist attack. The
bulletin board is hosted by West-World Internet Ltd, an Internet Service
Provider registered in South Africa. Answer the following questions. Discuss in
detail by referring to applicable case law, legislation and academic
commentary. (a) Mr X wants to notify West-World Internet Ltd that the
messages are defamatory and request the Internet service provider to remove
them. What legal steps would you advise X to take to lodge his complaint? (b)
After Mr X lodged his complaint, West-World Internet Ltd failed to remove the
defamatory messages. A week later Mr X filed a lawsuit against West-World
Internet Ltd for defamation. What defence or defences, if any, would the
defendant, West-World Internet Ltd, be able to rely on? Discuss in detail by
referring to relevant case law and legislation as well as the position in the
United Kingdom. (c) Can West-World Internet Ltd be compelled to reveal the
name and address of the user that has placed the defamatory messages on
the Internet? Substantiate your answer. (d) Mr X also found out that
defamatory messages of him were circulated amongst certain email users. In
order to institute a claim for defamation Mr X must prove that publication took
place. Discuss what the term “publication” means in this instance and explain
when it will take place. Will it make any difference to your answer if the emails
are written in a secret language? (6) (e) Find 6 (six) sources of law on the
Internet which you can use to substantiate your opinion to your client and
indicate why you have decided on a specific internet document – in other
words, which aspect(s) of your point of view it substantiates. You can either
attach the first and last page of these sources, OR you can list the sources
including their full details (author, title, date retrieved, etc and the URL
references) so that these sources can be traced on the Internet. (6) PLEASE
NOTE: At least half of these sources should be articles obtained from law
journals. To find sources from the library’s databases, you can make use of
the LibGuides link: TOTAL MARKS [20]
(a) To lodge a complaint about defamatory messages posted on a bulletin board hosted
by West-World Internet Ltd, Mr. X should follow these legal steps:
1. Identify the Defamatory Content: First, Mr. X should clearly identify the specific
messages that he believes are defamatory. Document and save evidence of the
messages, including timestamps, usernames, and the content itself.
