NEW REGULATIONS PROPOSED TO GOVERN SOUTH AFRICAN WEBSITES

The South African website and Domain regulator: ZA Domain Name Authority (ZADNA), has recently proposed draft rules in which all second level (private) “.za” domain names will be regulated.

The draft “.za” registry and registrar license regulations provides details on the requirements that will need to be met for both new and existing domains. These proposed changes are made in accordance with Section 68 and 94 of the Electronic Transactions and Communications Act (ECT Act) as well as the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI Act) and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). According to ZADNA these regulations are implemented to maintain and enforce stricter requirements for the licensing, monitoring and operations of .za sites.

These new rules are proposed by the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, and include the following changes:

1. Registrars of .za domains will be required to collect Identity Documents of those persons registering domains along with a physical address, email addresses and a contactable telephone number for administrative purposes. This is to ensure that domains are controlled by identifiable juristic persons, should these domains be used to commit a crime or infringe on the rights of others.
2. A license and registration fee is payable to ZADNA. However, the amount payable has not yet been determined. This license will validate the domain for 10 years, which is renewable upon three months prior to expiration of the license.
3. Domain registrars must provide ZADNA access to the domain upon request for audits and reviews.
4. Companies will be required to submit their B-BBEE Certification upon registration of a new domain.

ZADNA has stated that post promulgation of these new rules, non-compliance could lead to remedial action being taken by the authority and ultimately the revocation of your domain license. With the increase in cybercrimes committed through the usage of domains that are unregulated, the authority believes that these changes will assist in reducing the amount of criminal traffic on South African websites.

Such regulations have already been welcomed in other parts of the world such as the EU’s GDPR requires all ISPs that provide services to .eu websites to keep data on domain name holders, guarantee the accuracy of their databases and provide information to the relevant authorities upon request.

With over 1.3 million .za domains currently registered and new domains being registered every day, these proposed rules could cause many local domain users and South African ISPs to come under pressure as these force holders into compliance with new regulations.

SwiftTechLaw specializes in all technology related law and will gladly assist any Domain Holders or ISPs with matters relating to Domain registrations and Compliance with the ZADNA.