On 26 March 2020, the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies published Directions to facilitate the dissemination of information in order to combat COVID-19 in South Africa. These directions are issued under Regulation 10(8) of the Disaster Management Act 57 of 2002.

Importantly, paragraph 5.1.4 of the Directions requires that all internet sites which have .za domain names (including websites ending in co.za, org.za and ac.za), MUST include a link to the government's COVID-19 website - www.sacoronavirus.co.za. This link must feature on the landing/front page of the website and must be visible when visiting such website.

The Directions came into force on the day of publication, 26 March 2020. Therefore, in order to comply, we advise that all entities with domain names ending in .za ensure that the above link is clearly displayed on the front page of their websites. While this is only a requirement for .za domain names, we recommend that any South African entity, even those with .com domain names, include the link.

While we are off-site, we are still online. Feel free to direct your COVID-19 questions our way.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.