1. GENERAL NOTICE

The purpose of this Code of Conduct is to comply with the relevant laws of the Republic; to specify to customers and users of our service what activities and online conduct are considered an unacceptable use of the service to protect the integrity of our network and to specify the consequences that may flow from undertaking such prohibited activities.

  • This document contains a number of legal obligations, which you are presumed to be familiar with. As such, we encourage you to read this document thoroughly and direct any queries to our customer services/legal department at Legal@inovi.co.za or info@inovi.co.za.

 

 

  1. RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBITY
    • INOVI TEL (PTY)LTD respects the rights of our customers and users of our services to: freedom of speech and expression; access to information; privacy; human dignity; religion, belief and opinion in accordance with our constitution.
    • We undertake not to interfere with any of those rights unless required to do so by law; or unless those rights are exercised for unlawful purposes; or unless the exercise of those rights threatens to cause harm to another person or affect the integrity of our network.

 

  1. CODE OF CONDUCT

INOVI confirms that in compliance with section 72 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002.

 

  1. DEFINITIONS
    • “Customer” means the person or legal entity entering into an agreement or entering into Terms and Conditions with INOVI for the provision of any Services.
    • “INOVI” means INOVI TEL PROPRIETARY LIMITED, registration number 2021/890183/07, a company incorporated in terms of the laws of the Republic of South Africa, which is a Network Provider and Internet Services Provider.
    • “INOVI Network” means the communications network used for the distribution of Services which are provided by INOVI as envisaged in the respective agreement entered into between INOVI and the Customer.
    • “Service(s)” means any services provided by INOVI and which are made accessible to the Customer in terms of the respective agreement or Terms and Conditions entered into between INOVI and the Customer.

 

  1. PURPOSE

By contracting with us for service, you agree, without limitation or qualification, to be bound by this policy and the terms and conditions it contains, as well as any other additional terms, conditions, rules or policies which are displayed to you in connection with this service

  • This Policy serves to define the accepted conduct of users on the INOVI Network.
  • The Policy is intended to allow INOVI to:
    • Comply with the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002.
    • Protect its customers and infrastructure from abuse
    • Adhere to current laws and regulations governing organisations and service providers in the Republic of South Africa.

 

 

 

  1. GOVERNING LEGISLATION
    • The Customer undertakes to use INOVI’s Network and Services in accordance with any restrictions imposed under the following legislation:
      • Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002;
      • Electronic Communications Act 36 of 2005;
      • Regulation of Interception and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act 70 of 2003 (“RICA”)
  1. UNLAWFUL USE
    • Our Services may only be used for lawful purposes and activities. We prohibit any use of our network including the transmission, storage and distribution of any material or content using our network that violates any law or regulation of the Republic. This includes:
      • Any violation of local and international laws prohibiting child pornography; obscenity; discrimination (including racial, gender or religious slurs) and hate speech; or speech designed to incite violence or hatred, or threats to cause bodily harm.
      • Any activity designed to defame, abuse, stalk, harass or physically threaten any individual in the Republic or beyond its borders; including any attempt to link to, post, transmit or otherwise distribute any inappropriate or defamatory material.
      • Any violation of Intellectual Property laws including materials protected by local and international copyright, trademarks and trade secrets.
        • Moreover INOVI cannot be held liable if you make any unlawful use of any multimedia content accessed through the search facility provided by INOVI ’s network, or otherwise available through access to our network, whether for commercial or non-commercial purposes.
      • Any violation of the individual’s right to privacy, including any effort to collect personal data of third parties without their consent.
      • Any fraudulent activity whatsoever, including dubious financial practices, such as pyramid schemes; the impersonation of another subscriber without their consent; or any attempt to enter into a transaction with INOVI on behalf of another subscriber without their consent.
      • Any violation of the exchange control laws of the Republic.
      • Any activity that results in the sale, transmission or distribution of pirated or illegal software.
  1. THE NETWORK
    • INOVI has no power to control the content of the information passing over the Internet and its applications, including e-mail; chatrooms; news groups; or other similar fora, and INOVI cannot be held responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any of the abovementioned content, in any way for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of, or in connection with your use of, or reliance on, any such content.
    • The Customer acknowledges that INOVI is unable to exercise control over the data passing over the infrastructure and the Internet including, but not limited to, any websites, electronic mail transmissions, news groups or other material created or accessible over its infrastructure. Therefore, INOVI is not responsible for data transmitted over its infrastructure.
    • The INOVI infrastructure may be used to link into other networks worldwide and the Customer agrees to abide by the acceptable use policies of these networks.
    • The Customer is prohibited from obtaining, disseminating or facilitating any unlawful materials over the INOVI Network including, but not limited to:
      • copying or dealing in intellectual property without authorisation.
      • child pornography or unlawful interactions with minors;
      • any threatening or offensive material which is harmful, obscene, discriminatory, defamatory, constitutes hate speech or the unlawful incitement to commit criminal acts; and
      • promotion, facilitation or funding of terrorist activities.
    • The Customer is prohibited from using the INOVI Network in any way that:
      • constitutes criminal activity or the aiding of criminal activity; constitutes Spam/E-mail abuse, a security risk or a violation of privacy.
      • interferes with the use or enjoyment of the INOVI Network by others.
    • In order to ensure that all Customers have fair and equal use of the Service and to protect the integrity of the INOVI Network, INOVI reserves the right, and will take whatever steps INOVI deems necessary, to prevent improper or excessive usage of the Service. These steps may include but are not limited to:
      • any action required to prevent prohibited usage (whether intended or unintended) i.e., actions to prevent the spread of viruses, worms, malicious code, etc.
      • limiting throughput.
      • preventing or limiting Services through specific network ports or communication protocols.
      • complete termination of Service to Customers who grossly abuse the INOVI Network through improper or excessive usage.
      • suspending the Customer’s account.
      • charging the offending Customer for administrative costs incurred as well as for machine and human time lost due to the incident;
      • implementing appropriate mechanisms in order to prevent usage patterns that violate this Policy and/or any applicable laws; and/or
      • sharing information concerning the incident with other internet access providers or publish the information and/or make available the Customer’s details to law enforcement agencies.

 

  1. SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY
    • INOVI respects the intellectual property rights of others and is committed to helping third parties protect their rights. We prohibit users from posting content that violates another party’s intellectual property rights. When we receive a valid notice of IP infringement, we shall promptly remove or disable access to the allegedly infringing content. We also terminate the accounts of repeat infringers in appropriate circumstances. All Users must comply with applicable copyright laws when publishing content or linking to content on another site (“User Content”).
    • While INOVI respects and encourages the constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression, in the interest of all Users the following content is regarded undesirable: (This prohibition applies regardless of whether you are posting content created by someone else.)
      • Content that is, or can generally be considered, or is in INOVI ’s sole discretion, obscene, sexually explicit or pornographic.
      • Content that is illegal or unlawful; INOVI (Pty) Ltd
      • Content that you know to be false or is designed to be misleading.
      • Content that is defamatory, intimidating, harassing, hateful, injurious, racist, sexist, abusive, malicious or threatening to any person or group of persons.
      • Content that incites hatred or violence
      • Content that infringes or may infringe the intellectual property rights of any person or legal entity. This includes content that you didn’t create or which you do not have permission to post.
      • Content that constitutes or may constitute an invasion of the privacy rights of any person.
      • Content that constitutes, or may constitute, the wrongful or unlawful disclosure or publication of confidential information or trade secrets.
      • Content that is otherwise injurious to any person; 4.2.10. Content that may expose INOVI or any other users to harm or liability of any type.
    • The following conduct is prohibited (whether for yourself or on behalf of any other person):
      • Impersonate any person or your affiliation with any person.
      • Harass or intimidate any person.
      • Collect the personal information of any person.
      • Post spam;
      • Any action that may expose INOVI or any other users to any harm or liability of any type
    • Any reference to systems and networks under this section refer to all systems and networks to which the Customer is granted access through INOVI, including, but not limited to, the infrastructure of INOVI itself and the Internet.
    • The Customer may not circumvent authentication or security of any host, device, network or account (referred to as “hacking” or “cracking”), nor interfere with Service to any user, host, device or network (referred to as “denial of Service attacks”). The host, device, network or account shall also not be used for any illegal purpose, including but not limited to phishing.
    • Violations of system or network security by the Customer are prohibited and may result in civil and/or criminal liability. INOVI will investigate incidents involving any violation or suspected violation and shall involve and co-operate with law enforcement officials if a criminal violation is suspected. Examples of system or network security violations include, without limitation, the following:
      • unauthorised access to or use of data, systems or networks, including any attempt to probe, scan or test the vulnerability of any system or network or to breach any security or authentication measures without the express authorisation of INOVI.
      • unauthorised monitoring of data or traffic on the network or systems without the express authorisation of INOVI.
      • interference with Service to any user, device, host or network including, without limitation, email bombing, flooding, deliberate attempts to overload a system and broadcast attacks.
      • 4 5.3.4 forging of any TCP-IP packet header (spoofing) or any part of the header information.
      • knowingly uploading or distributing files that contain malware, including but not limited to viruses, spyware, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, cancel bots, corrupted files, root kits or any other similar software or programs that may damage the operation of another’s computer, network system or other property, or be used to engage in session or system hi-jacking.
      • engaging in the promotion or transmission of pirated software.
      • using manual or automated means to avoid any use limitations placed on the Services.
      • providing guidance, information or assistance with respect to causing damage or security breach to INOVI ‘s network or systems, or to the network of any other service provider.
      • impersonating others or secretly or deceptively obtaining personal information of third parties (phishing, social engineering, etc.); and
      • failure to take reasonable security precautions to help prevent violations of this Policy.
  1. Upon receipt of a complaint, or having become aware of an incident, INOVI may take any of the following steps:
    • In the case of a network, inform the user’s network administrator of the incident and request the network administrator or network owner to address the incident in terms of this Code of Conduct.
    • In severe cases suspend access of the user’s entire network until abuse can be prevented by appropriate means.
    • In the case of individual users, warn the user; suspend the user’s account and/or revoke or cancel the user’s network access privileges completely.
    • In all cases, charge the offending parties for administrative costs as well as for machine and human time lost due to the incident.
    • Assist other networks or website administrators in investigating credible suspicions of any activity listed in this Code of Conduct.
    • Institute civil or criminal proceedings.
    • Share information concerning the incident with other Internet access providers, or publish the information, and/or make available the users’ details to law enforcement agencies.

 

  1. RESERVATION AND NON-WAIVER OF RIGHTS
    • INOVI reserves the right to amend or alter this policy at any time, and without notice to you.
    • INOVI reserves the right to take action against any individuals, companies or organizations that violate any of the prohibited activities set out herein or engage in any illegal or unlawful activity while accessing our services, to the fullest extent of the law.
    • INOVI reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to act against other types of abuse not listed in this document and to investigate or prevent illegal activities being committed over our network.
    • INOVI reserves the right to monitor user and network traffic for site security purposes and prevent any unauthorised attempts to tamper with our site or cause damage to our property.
    • INOVI reserves the right to suspend, revoke or cancel INOVI ’s services to the customer/user if the safety and integrity of INOVI ’s resources are placed at risk in continuing to provide service to the subscriber/user.
    • INOVI reserves the right to remove any information or materials in whole or in part, that, in INOVI ’s sole discretion, is deemed to be offensive, indecent, or otherwise objectionable.
    • INOVI does not undertake to guarantee the security of any data passing through its networks. Although INOVI will provide a “best effort” service, including regular updates on computer viruses and other threats to security of data, it is the responsibility of the communicating parties to safeguard their data, and INOVI cannot be held liable for any loss or damage arising as result of the failure to do so.
    • INOVI does not waive its right to enforcement of this Code of Conduct at any time, or prejudice its right to take subsequent action, should INOVI fail, neglect or elect not to enforce a breach of the Code of Conduct at any time.

 

  1. INTERCEPTION

The Customer acknowledges that INOVI is lawfully required to intercept communications in accordance with the provisions of RICA. Any interception of communications shall be strictly in accordance with the provisions of the said Act.

 

  1. GENERAL
    • This Policy forms part of INOVI ’s standard terms and conditions in respect of any of INOVI’s Services and the usage of any INOVI Services shall be subject to this Policy.