Tebogo Sibidla

@werksmans — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 11:43:39 +0000

Tebogo Sibidla is a Director in our Commercial Practice and a regulatory lawyer with a pan-African focus on digital, technology, and sector‑specific regulatory frameworks.

With over two decades of experience, she advises local and multinational clients on navigating complex regulatory environments, particularly in sectors shaped by rapid technological and digital transformation. She advises clients across a range of regulated sectors, including media, broadcasting, electronic communications, digital platforms, e-commerce, iGaming, online betting, esports, digital entertainment, and the technology and electronics sector. Her expertise includes regulatory licensing, compliance strategy, and risk management, as well as advising on advertising and marketing, consumer protection, data protection and privacy, and administrative law.

She has significant experience supporting operators, platforms, and investors in navigating complex regulatory frameworks and securing regulatory approvals. She also advises on e-waste and environmental regulatory frameworks affecting technology businesses.

Tebogo is a strong advocate for modern, harmonised and commercially workable regulatory frameworks in Africa, supporting cross-border trade, reducing compliance complexity, and enabling innovation and sustainable digital growth.

Years of experience: 21 years

Practice Areas

Digital Media & Electronic Communications
Regulatory & Compliance
Technology & Innovation

Expertise

Licensing and regulation of audio and audiovisual services
Legislative and regulatory advisory, including analysis of draft laws, regulatory impact assessment, and preparation of written and oral submissions
IT and telecommunications policies and agreements
Electronic communications and telecommunications regulation
Digital platform and online content regulation, including social media, AI, music rights, content licensing, and content governance
Advertising, marketing, and promotional competition compliance
AI, data governance, and emerging technology regulation
Digital service taxes
Data protection, privacy, and information governance
Films, games, and publications classification
Cybersecurity and cybercrime
Consumer protection and market conduct regulation
Regulatory strategy, compliance frameworks, and risk management
Engagement with regulators and regulatory authorities
Regulatory investigations, enforcement action, and dispute resolution
Satellite service licensing and regulation
Licensing and regulation of gambling, online betting, and esports ecosystems
Environmental compliance, including electronic waste (e-waste) regulatory frameworks
Cross-border regulatory advisory across multiple African jurisdictions, including coordinating multi-jurisdictional filings and engagement with regional regulatory frameworks and bodies such as COMESA

Relevant Experience

Advised Blue Label Telecoms on the regulatory approval for its acquisition of a controlling interest in Cell C, including the transfer of control of electronic communications licences before the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, contributing to a transaction critical to the sustainability of a major mobile operator.
Advised MultiChoice Group on the sector specific regulatory aspects of the acquisition by Groupe Canal+, a ZAR 55 billion transaction and the largest media M&A deal in Africa, including coordinating regulatory approvals across multiple African jurisdictions.
Regularly advises leading pan-African audiovisual service providers on digital platform regulation, online piracy, and emerging regulatory frameworks across multiple African jurisdictions, including cybersecurity, data protection, and content governance.
Advised a pan-African legal information company on data protection and regulatory issues relating to the aggregation and commercial use of public legal data, including considerations relevant to digital platforms and AI-driven use cases across multiple African jurisdictions.
Advised on regulatory licensing across Africa, including strategic structuring, drafting applications, and negotiating licence terms, successfully securing audio, audiovisual and electronic communications licences, and licence renewals across Africa, including Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Developed compliance frameworks for multinational companies, including drafting compliance risk management plans and providing compliance training across multiple African jurisdictions in respect of sector specific, consumer protection, competition, and data protection laws.

Career

Director, Werksmans Attorneys (2011–present)
Certificate in Competition Law, University of the Witwatersrand (2011)
Admitted as an Attorney (2007)
Certificate in Advanced Broadcasting Law, University of the Witwatersrand (2006)
LLB, University of the Witwatersrand (2004)

Highlights

Ranked Band 3 (Media & Broadcasting, South Africa) – Chambers Global Guide 2025, 2026
Recognised by Who’s Who Legal (now Lexology Index) as a leading practitioner in Telecoms & Media and as a Recommended Global Leading Lawyer in Data Privacy & Protection
Listed and recognised in The Legal 500 (Media, Communications & Technology; Data Privacy)
Member of Werksmans’ highly ranked Media & Communications and Digital Media & Electronic Communications practice:
Band 2 ranked team (Chambers Global 2025)
Dealmakers (Ansarada) Deal of the Year 2024
African Legal Awards – TMT Team of the Year (2025)
Contributor to DataGuidance, providing jurisdictional input and regulatory insight on data protection, data residency, and privacy developments
Contributed as a legal expert to World Bank digital regulatory and indicators surveys for South Africa (2020 and 2022)
Recognised in the Women in Business Law Expert Guide (Euromoney), 2021