NATIONAL NEWS - Revenge is a dish best-served cold as the saying goes, but doing so on social media can land you in hot water.
Experts are warning social media users who post revenge porn online that doing so is illegal.
The warning follows a scorned Durban woman posting sexually explicit images and videos of her husband and his mistress online.
The posts went viral and the woman seen in the images and video turned to security experts Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa) for help.
Having received several such complaints recently Rusa warned its clients and social media followers to be mindful of the pitfalls and risks of posting unsavoury content online.
However, even Rusa’s social media platforms were set alight with thousands of social media users weighing in on the scandal.
Many of the commentators sided with the scorned wife, saying that both the husband and his girlfriend deserved to be shamed publicly. A minority of commentators disagreed, however, saying that irrespective of what happened, the woman who was publicly shamed had now become the victim as it was illegal for those images to be circulated online.
Social media expert, Emma Sadleir, warns that posting sensitive information and images online is a criminal offence punishable by jail time or a fine of up to R300 000.
According to Sadleir, in the last 50 years, there have been two acts put in place to protect victims of these cybercrimes; the Cyber Crimes Act 19 of 2020 and the Films and Publications Amendment Act of 2019.
You can lay a criminal charge under these two laws, if someone is threatening you, you can get a protection order, and depending on the context you can get an element of defamation. The consequence for this can be four years in prison or a R300 000 fine.
The Cyber Crimes Act criminalises the disclosure of data messages which are harmful and provides for courts to issue interim protection orders and to impose obligations to report cybercrimes. While the Films and Publications Amendment Act deems it illegal by the law to share explicit images without the consent of the people in the content.
In the latest incident, the woman who complained to Rusa about the illegal sharing of explicit images of her said she had no idea she was in a relationship with a married man.
Rusa spokesperson, Prem Balram, said that multiple images and videos were posted online.
“She explained that she engaged in a sexual relationship with her work colleague and he had snapped several pictures of her in the nude and also recorded explicit video content,” said Balram, adding that the complainant had yet to open criminal charges.
“The wife had found fourteen videos and sixty nude pictures of the other woman on her husband’s phone and sought revenge by sharing it with her Facebook friends, family and work colleagues. Several posts on Facebook remain active, with the wife offering pictures as proof of the extramarital affair,” said Balram.
Legal expert and attorney, Mpumelelo Zikalala, said should the wife face criminal charges for posting the content online her only defence would be to argue that she had no intention of breaking the law and causing harm. However, the complainant would also have to outline how her character was defamed, said Zikalala.
This action also has social consequences as it can lead to one’s image being tarnished. Some people lose jobs and are not able to get employment and may lose respect in the communities they live in after such incidents … She can claim the cost of damages if her livelihood is affected in any way by this.
Article: Caxton publication, The Witness
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