Sending nudes on WhatsApp now a criminal offense landing one up to 15 years in jail
Sending nudes on WhatsApp or texts via any social media platforms is now a criminal offense landing one up to 15 years in jail. This is according to the new cybercrime laws passed in South Africa today.
Nudes and intimate images are one of the categories that could land on in jail. This includes revenge porn and any other violence inciting messages. Reports confirm that president Ramaphosa signed into law the Cybercrimes Bill.
Some examples of unsafe WhatsApp messages and other data message include those which motivate violence or damage to property, those that threaten people with violence and messages with an intimate image.
Sending nudes on WhatsApp now a criminal offense landing one up to 15 years in jail
There are other additional offenses in terms of the new law which are cyber fraud, forgery, extortion and theft of incorporeal property. It is now important than ever to think before you act. The Director and Head of Data Privacy Ahmore Burger-Smidt said a person who is convicted of an offence under the Cybercrimes Act is liable to a fine or to imprisonment for a period of up to fifteen years or to both a fine and such imprisonment as may be ordered in terms of the offence
“There is no doubt that the Cybercrimes Act will be of particular importance to electronic communications service providers and financial institutes as it imposes obligations upon them to assist in the investigation of cybercrimes, for example by furnishing a court with certain particulars which may involve the handing over of data or even hardware on application,” she adds.
Scandals like the recent one about Prince Kaybee and his side chick leaking his nudes will no longer be acceptable. This will probably change the way people deal with social media and focus on other positives not bringing down others.