WhatsApp group admins: Legal implications

20 September 2022
Technology
South African Accounting Academy

In the past month, it has been confirmed by WhatsApp that you will soon be able to leave a WhatsApp group without a notification that you have left. This is welcomed by most, as it takes away that awkward conversation of having to explain to others why you left a particular group.

Other updates we will see being rolled out include being able to delete your messages after two days (which currently only allows you to delete a message you may have made in error within one hour); and being visible online only to a specific group of people.

In addition to how these updates are going to affect user-experience, they present burning questions in relation to potential legal implications.

One update that is much awaited is the ability for WhatsApp group admins to delete messages from a group.

The Cybercrimes Act 19 of 2020 creates offences for threats to people, categories of people and property through data messaging.

WhatsApp group admins need to be mindful of the content allowed to be shared on their WhatsApp groups. For instance, not allowing threats and bullying in a group.

From the onset of creating a group, it is suggested that a disclaimer, guidelines and the purpose of the group be added.

Is this enough? Not at all. Even with a disclaimer, WhatsApp group admins may still be held liable for the content whether they have not published or forwarded messages themselves.

In South Africa, a court will question the following when deciding liability for a WhatsApp group admin: Was the admin able to stop the illegal content from being published and didn't; and whether the admin could disassociate themselves from the content published.

Click here to access the Article for more detail:

https://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/639/231124.html#more

Relevance to Auditors, Independent Reviewers & Accountants:

POPIA and the Cybercrimes Acts are yet more pieces of legislation that your clients must comply with, and which you must assess compliance with. If they don’t comply with the relevant laws and regulations, you have certain reporting obligations in terms of NOCLAR (NOn-Compliance with Laws And Regulations) – this could include reporting to management, qualifying your audit opinion, reporting a Reportable Irregularity, etc.
As an individual who acts as group admins, you may be held liable. Thus, it is very important you keep yourself informed of new developments on WhatsApp.

Relevance to Your clients:

An entity (company or close corporation) has a duty to comply with POPIA and the Cybercrimes Acts, and individuals who act as group admins may be held liable.

To stay current with all the latest changes and updates subscribe to our Monthly Compliance and Legislative Update series for R 250.00 per month. This gives you access to a monthly 2-hour webinar and monthly newsletter:
https://accountingacademy.co.za/profession/monthly-legislation-update

Get all your CPD online. SA Accounting Academy (SAAA) offers Subscription Plans, Live Webinars, Webinars On-Demand, Access to Experts, Courses, Articles and more:
https://cpd.accountingacademy.co.za.