Three years after they insulted a teenage girl on WhatsApp, 26 people are facing a R100 000 legal claim.
The “Affies cap incident” happened in August that year. According to IOL, the girl was playing beer pong when an Affies alumni placed his school cap on her head. She was photographed and the image shared onto a WhatsApp group. Former pupils of the prestigious boys’ school insulted her and threated to “f*ck her up” for daring to wear the Affies cap. Pupils of the school are very proud of their attire and tradition held that only pupils or former pupils of the school were to be seen wearing it.
According to Netwerk24, the school has since condemned any form of violence – especially violence against women and children.
There are many lessons to be learnt from this scenario. Various arguments have been made condemning the 26 bullies. Media reportage surfaced at an interesting point in time – it coincides with cabinet having approved a bill that criminalises hate speech.
The damning comments you make on social platforms – be it Facebook, WhatsApp, Snapchat or any similar one – will come back to bite you. The Affies cap incident proves that it won’t happen immediately. Your victim may only take action against you months or years after the fact.
When it happens, you will be sorry. Authorities and human rights groups have increasingly been focusing on social media transgressions like defamation, crimen injuria and hate speech. Whereas victims could previously approach only the Equality Court for hate speech, it will probably be a crime with a three year jail sentence soon.
The Vicky Momberg sentencing proved that a mean comment directed at someone else can land you behind bars. The Margaret van Wyk and Mable Jansen debacles made it clear that the expectation of privacy in private conversations is an illusion.
M.C. Bekker, principle consultant at CS Interactive Training, specialises in cyber security and elaborates. “Cyber incidents are not limited to those in the IT field. It happens to everyone and combating it is everyone’s problem,” he says. According to Bekker, smartphone users should take note of the fact that their online activities can be monitored, regardless of where they are or what they are doing. This even applies when web users use pseudonyms.
“When you use your smartphone or the web, assume that what you do can be traced. What you do online will always have consequences,” he says.
Bekker suggests that any person who uses these tools must educate themselves regarding the dangers and legal implications of its usage. “Ignorance is not an excuse,” he concludes.
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