WhatsApp group admins beware

Speaking on Radio 702, Sadleir said the “law of South Africa treats a WhatsApp administrator as if they are like an editor of a newspaper and you are responsible for the content of its pages”
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What law is she referring to?
 
dominic said:
i think the common law of defamation (which most certainly does not "treats a WhatsApp administrator as if they are like an editor of a newspaper and responsible for the content of its pages")

Chapter 11 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 is also relevant to show how service providers are not regarded as publishers

the law here is complicated but stick to common sense and you'll be fine ;)
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Thanks dominic! Yeah so much for a social media law expert
 
it really annoys me when lawyers do this....

article said:
The warning comes after a WhatsApp group admin was arrested in India after a member of the group shared an edited image of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The person who created and posted the image to the group was also arrested.

The arrests follow directives by two Indian state governments which warned that social media administrators were liable for content circulated in groups.
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from link provided in MYBB article: WhatsApp group admin in India arrested for sharing ‘ugly’ image of PM Modi
Last year, two Indian state governments had issued directives, saying social media administrators were liable for content circulated in groups and could be prosecuted for sharing any factually incorrect, rumour or misleading information. Although the ruling was overturned by the Delhi High Court last December, the recent arrests signal otherwise.
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from link in that article -

WhatsApp group administrators can't be held liable for content: Indian court

Following two directives issued in April by two separate state governments that made social media group administrators liable for content circulated by other members of the group, the Delhi High Court has now ruled out any such possibility.

Legally India reported that the Court took into account the fact that messages posted in WhatsApp groups did not require the administrator’s prior approval. Hence, holding the admin liable for member-posted content is equivalent to holding the ‘manufacturer of the newsprint’ liable for defamatory statements in the newspaper.

This comes as a welcome move in an increasingly sensitive cyberspace in India, where the state authorities and civil society is engaged in a debate on internet censorship.
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...so leaving aside the fact that Indian law has no application here + that this is clearly political censorship, there is till the fact that the actual facts are diametrically opposed to those presented

? what are the implications for freedom of expression if we start scaring whatsapp group admins into policing content?
 
dominic said:
it really annoys me when lawyers do this....



from link provided in MYBB article: WhatsApp group admin in India arrested for sharing ‘ugly’ image of PM Modi


from link in that article -



...so leaving aside the fact that Indian law has no application here + that this is clearly political censorship, there is till the fact that the actual facts are diametrically opposed to those presented

? what are the implications for freedom of expression if we start scaring whatsapp group admins into policing content?
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I hate it also. Fear mongering plain and simple.
 
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