Rene Mattheus

Protecting Children Online | Cybercrime & Tech Attorney | Founder, Keep Me Safe Online | POPIA | Cybercrimes Act | Speaker & Educator

Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

About

At every workshop I run, I hold up my phone and tell the room: this is the most dangerous and most valuable thing you own, for the same reason. It is a direct line to your home, your finances, your family. And it is even more so for your children. I am a cybercrime and technology attorney based in Cape Town. For the past several years I have worked at the intersection of child protection law, digital safety education, and platform accountability. I represent families facing active online threats, advise schools and organisations on digital safety policy, and train parents and educators to understand the legal and practical risks their children face online. I founded the Keep Me Safe Online programme because the families I work with consistently told me the same thing: by the time they found a lawyer, the damage was already done. My work is built around changing that. I cover South Africa's Cybercrimes Act 19 of 2020, POPIA compliance, and the growing body of international platform liability law. I follow the global litigation against Meta, Google, TikTok, and Snap closely and translate what those proceedings mean for South African families and regulators. If you are a parent, educator, school, or organisation navigating online harm, I can help. Workshops and speaking: [email protected] Resources: linktr.ee/ReneMatt1

Experience

  • Director at Pattern Interrupt Consulting
    Oct 2024 - Present · 1 yr 9 mos

    • Provided legal guidance to startups and creatives on contract management and reputation management. • Specialized in online dispute resolution and protection of personal information, especially for children online.

  • Attorney at RH Heydenrych & Associates
    Apr 2024 - Present · 2 yrs 3 mos

  • Associate Attorney at Dave Dewar at Dewar Attorneys
    Oct 2023 - Mar 2024 · 6 mos

  • Attorney at RH Heydenrych & Associates
    Sep 2022 - Oct 2023 · 1 yr 2 mos

  • Attorney at TKVS LAW
    Apr 2021 - Sep 2022 · 1 yr 6 mos