03/06/2021
Cyber Crime is now a criminal offence in South Africa and punishable with a fine or up to 15 years in prison.
On Tuesday 1 June, 2021 Cyril Ramaphosa signed a vital new Bill into South African law. It’s been described as the moment Mzansi ‘joins the big boy table’, in terms of preventing cybercrimes and protecting digital security. However, it is the specific clause on ‘harmful text messages’ that has drawn the most attention.
As named by the Bill, there are three (3) specific types of ‘harmful communications’ that can land citizens with a hefty fine, or even a jail sentence. Essentially, the Cybercrimes Act is looking to clamp down on text messages that severely impair the dignity, safety, or security of a person in the digital space. Therefore, you can be imprisoned for posting the following:
Some of the text messages that are now illegal to send in South Africa are >
* Messages which incite violence or damage to property are now outlawed.
* Anyone who threatens persons with violence or damage to property is also guilty of a criminal offence.
* Furthermore, the unlawful distribution of an ‘intimate image’ – classed as revenge p**n – is punishable under the Cyber Crimes Bill.
Brief Description of the Cyber Crimes Act, as follows;
Under the Cybercrimes Act, people sharing malicious content via WhatsApp, SMS, or any other digital platform can be punished – IF it can be proved that they are distributing text messages that are threatening or intimately revealing. Ahmore Burger-Smidt, Head of Data Privacy at Werksmans Attorneys, unpacked what this means for South Africans:
“This Bill, which is now an Act of Parliament, creates offences for and criminalizes, among others, the disclosure of harmful messages. A person convicted of an offence under the Cyber Crimes 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.”
“Other offences include cyber fraud, forgery, extortion and theft of incorporeal property. The unlawful and intentional access of a computer system or computer data storage medium is also considered an offence along with the unlawful interception of, or interference with data.”
*MORE reasons to FREE South Africa from ANC government*
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