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unequivocal; the offer is accepted by the person to whom it was addressed;
the acceptance is in response to the offer; and the acceptance complies
with set formalities (if any).

Considering the endless variety of announcements, advertisements
and other forms of promotion and communication encountered daily
on social media platforms, it is not easy to establish when an offer has
been made and accepted to establish a binding contract. In a recent
South African case, a sporting club announced the extension of one of
Commercial end of the season, the contract was not extended. Our courts held that the
its players’ contracts for the next season on social media. However at the
mere announcement of the extension by the club on social media did not
constitute a contract of employment, as there were other formalities the
club required to be complied with before a contract extension was valid.
In addition, the fact that the club had made an announcement on social
media that the player’s contract had been extended did not meet the
requirements of a ‘data message’ that concluded an agreement in terms
of the ECT Act. The announcement by the club therefore did not constitute
a valid offer which could be accepted and did not create an enforceable
contract.
In your case however it could be argued that the Facebook post created
a general invitation to the public to contract, but that a valid contract
came into existence once you and the breeder had through messaging
established the details of the offer, and which were accepted by the parties
to create a binding electronic contract. However, as you can see from the
above, each case must be considered on its own merits and the detail
of your communications with the breeder will hold the key as to whether
there are sufficient grounds confirming the existence of a valid contract
and which meets the requirements set out above.

POPI and the transfer of personal information
outside of South Africa

June 2017

“I operate a local travel agency that primarily books overseas
vacations and travel arrangements for clients. This process
involves making arrangements with overseas businesses, such
as restaurants and hotels. Am I correct when I say that POPI will
have an impact on my ability to transfer personal information
of my clients to other countries? What will my obligations be
in this regard?”

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