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SA Government's Crypto Registration Up And Running
orange writes "Anyone who supplies crypto products to South Africans (and the government defines crypto as almost anything) has to register with the appropriate agency and pay a ZAR2000 fee (US$200). Failure to supply South Africans without being registered means potential jail time (How they're gonna get you unless you come to South Africa is another story). A copy of the legislation can be found can be found online."
It depends wholly on the nature of the treaty. Different ones exist between different countries. For example, if someone commits murder in the US, there is a good chance the Canadians will return the person. But the Israelis won't. Just an example, but it varies.
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
US/South Africa treaty
Tor
For example, if you, an American citizen, kill someone in south afric, you can be extradited to south africa because killing someone is a crime in both countries (some conditions apply: see CIA, etc... for exceptions).
However, if you, an American, are accused of the "crime" of "thinking bad thoughts about despot ruler tyrant so-and-so", this is not a crime in America, so any extradition request will be ignored. Or laughed at. Or both.
Why would South Africa ship her to Argentina?
... is the additional requirement to register all "critical databases":
"The protection of sensitive data is essential for a functioning of a modern society. As stated in the Electronic Communications and Transaction Act, the information that is of importance to the protection of the national security of the country or the economic and social well-being will be declared as critical. All critical databases will be identified and registered with the Department of Communications which includes the details of the database administrator, the location of the database and the general description of the categories or types of information stored in the critical database.The registered information will be treated as confidential. The protection, management and control of critical databases must comply with the minimum standards that might be prescribed by the Minister. The audit will be performed, from time to time either by Cyber Inspectors or an independent auditor to evaluate the compliance."
Given such vague standards for "critical" almost *any* commercial database could be deemed "of importance to the protection of the national security of the country or the economic and social well-being." Amazon.com's database contains names and addresses of persons purchasing "how-to" books on terrorism and building bombs? It's critical! A Pr0n site has kept track of all visitors? Some of them *might* be criminals and dangerous to "social well-being."
Yes, there's also issues with persons living in SA downloading crypto software from foreign companies that haven't registered (are they liable or not?), but most of that is easily bypassed. Just have a visitor bring the "protected" code in on a floppy and distribute it internally.
The database restrictions have much more serious implications...
"Anyone who supplies SA's with an encryption product .. this doesn't sound like a per-seat deal, just a registration of the fact that you are selling a crypto product in SA."
This type of law doesn't normally limit itself to commercial transactions: remember that the Californian courts will consider that you "do business in" california if someone from that state can access your website. In fact, you would also be "publishing" in california. Doesn't bother them that a user would have to post a request to your server in the UK, and retrieve a document created in the UK; as far as they're concerned, it's as good as living there and running a press.
It may be illogical, uninformed, and just plain wrong, but don't be surprised if courts take a weird interpretation of things. Is pgpi.org visible from South Africa?
He wasn't smuggled across the border. He was arrested in Denmark for hate statements as he was attending a Neo-Nazi convention there, and was, months later and following an appeal all the way to the Danish Supreme Court, extradited to German where he was tried, convicted and served 4 years in German prisons.
(3) A cryptography service or cryptography product is regarded as being provided in the Republic if it is provided--
(a) from premises in the Republic;
(b) to a person who is present in the Republic when that person makes use of the service or product; or
(c) to a person who uses the service or product for the purposes of a business carried on in the Republic or from premises in the Republic.
i-name =twylite [http://public.xdi.org/=twylite], see idcommons.net