Image: ITWeb
Faizel Patel – 09/12/2020
The CEO of World Wide Worx says there are serious consequences for people who violate the new laws related to cybercrimes.
Parliament recently passed the Cybercrimes Bill, which has serious implications for South Africans.
The new Bill includes a number of new laws around the sending of messages and electronic communications.
It will become effective the moment President Cyril Ramaphosa sign the Bill into law.
Several changes were made since the first draft of the new laws in 2017.
Speaking to Radio Islam, Arthur Goldstuck says the recourse for victims of cybercrimes were extremely limited, but this has now changed.
“Now you face a fine or imprisonment from five to ten years for general offences and aggravated offences where if you continue to use such images or also the extent of the threats that contains imprisonment of up to fifteen years. Now it’s no longer a question of discretion or the judge understanding how the law applies to technology it makes it quite clear that it does apply.”
Goldstuck says the new law also extends jurisdiction to messages that are sent via any digital means or social media including WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter among others.
He says people must be aware that those who forward messages they receive are just as guilty as the person who sent it in the first place.
“So it doesn’t matter what the medium is, it now applies to all of these. It’s more focused on what they refer to as malicious communication which includes threats of damage to property or violence. As we know defamation is also regarded as a form of damage.”
Goldstuck says the law is mainly intended to deal with the kind of threats against journalists from various spheres of societies including communities for the reporting they do on various issues including COVID-19, corruption and protest actions among others.
Listen to the interview with Arthur Goldstuck
0 Comments