MTN's uncapped data bundles are not what consumers think they are. They are complicated packages with rules that limit them dramatically.
MTN’s misleading uncapped data bundle fine print
No, you can’t unilaterally opt out of Facebook’s terms and keep using it
Facebook has updated its terms of service and data use policy recently and the changes have upset many people. I've started seeing more declarations of users' intention to opt-out of provisions of Facebook's terms and conditions. These sorts of declarations seem to be legally binding with their fairly legalistic language but they don't work except... Continue Reading →
Your email providers don’t require a warrant to read your email
Our email providers give themselves much more convenient access to your data through their terms of service or privacy policies. On one hand, this is level of access may be necessary to prevent disruptions and limit liability but, on the other hand, these permissions we, as users, grant providers like Microsoft, Google, Yahoo and others pretty broad access to our data without requiring them to obtain court orders or satisfy any external legal requirement.
What you can legally say on Twitter
When it comes to acceptable conduct on Twitter and, defamation in particular, our law will govern how South African Twitter users use Twitter and may well inform how Twitter responds to improper use of its service too. Although simply making defamatory statements is not immediately actionable, doing so unjustifiably likely is wrongful and can expose you to legal proceedings seeking to stop you, to remove your defamatory statements or even to claim financial compensation from you. That said, there would be a tension between Twitter's approach to users' freedom of expression and local judicial authorities' approach which could be interesting but, on the whole, Twitter will likely respect local laws which are aligned, at least ostensibly, with its values.
Wartime Twitter
Militarised Twitter We recommend that no Hamas operatives, whether low level or senior leaders, show their faces above ground in the days ahead.— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) November 14, 2012 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js The recent Gaza conflict signified a shift in how battles are fought and publicised. Israel announced its assault on Hamas targets on Twitter and much of... Continue Reading →
Pinterest’s amended terms still leave users exposed
Pinterest (I am going to be a little lazy in this post and refer to "Pinterest" when discussing both the site and its creator, Cold Brew Labs) has been in the spotlight quite a bit lately due to its terms of service as well as content creators' concerns that their content is being shared without... Continue Reading →
Add nutmeg to your Terms of Service and whisk briefly
One of my contacts on Google+, York Zucchi, pointed me to his website terms and conditions on his site which I had to share. The terms (well, this is really a liability disclaimer, not a complete set of website terms and conditions) are somewhat simple and not appropriate for all uses but they are a... Continue Reading →
What Dropbox’s revised Terms of Service mean for you
When Dropbox amended its Terms of Service it sparked a controversy about the popular file sharing and cloud-based storage service's apparent user content grab. As with virtually all controversies about expanded content licensing provisions, many users feared Dropbox was claiming ownership of their content. This is not correct at all but the amended license provisions... Continue Reading →
What Twitpic’s Terms of Service really say about your copyright
The Web is abuzz about indications that popular Twitter-based photo sharing service, Twitpic, recently amended its Terms of Service to give itself the right to sell your photos and videos ("your content") or otherwise take ownership of your content. This rumour has, understandably, sparked outrage and inspired a series of posts and tweets about how... Continue Reading →
