[ad_1]
Discovery Health has fired 10 employees for the content of the messages they sent in a WhatsApp group during the COVID-19 lockdown.
This is according to a report from the sunday time, which said employees started the group to support each other after contracting COVID-19 in April.
The employees complained to the Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration Commission (CCMA) about their dismissal, arguing that they were unfairly fired and demanding 12 months’ salary from the company as compensation.
They reportedly accused the company of unhealthy work practices and invading their privacy.
Discovery Health CEO Ryan Noach said one of the WhatsApp group members shared the content of the conversations, which included planning and initiating efforts to maliciously shut down the company.
In its letter to one of the affected workers, Discovery Health said the employee had “shared information and messages that were clearly damaging and derogatory to the company” and accused them of making false and damaging statements about the company to an outside party and attempting to organize the closure of Discovery’s offices in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town.
“Our expectations are that staff raise concerns internally, giving us the opportunity to clarify or resolve any items that may raise any concerns they may have,” said Noach.
“The evidence in our possession illustrates that this group failed to seize opportunities to raise specific concerns internally, and instead chose to act maliciously and unfairly in an attempt to bring about the dire end of an office closure by discrediting to the enterprise. “
This is not the first time that South Africans have faced significant consequences for messages shared with a group via WhatsApp.
Last year, Adam Catzavelos faced criminal charges and was fined 50,000 rand for posting a video containing a racial slur on a WhatsApp group.
The video was shared with a group of his friends, one of whom posted it online, an act that caused Catzavelos to be publicly embarrassed for his comments and ultimately appear in court for his statements.
Private vs group messages
Legal issues related to WhatsApp messages often pertain to defamation and how South African law views defamatory statements made in a private group.
Boutique Law Firm VDS Inc previously told to MyBroadband that if you send a WhatsApp message to just one person, you cannot incur defamation liability.
However, if the person who received the message decides to post it, they can be held liable, even if they were not the author.
However, if you send a message to a WhatsApp group and it is leaked to external third parties, the author and the person who leaked the message can be held liable.
Users should also ensure that they remove any defamatory statement posted on their social media profile or in a WhatsApp group that they control or could also face the responsibility of perpetuating a defamatory statement.
Cybercrime bill
The Cyber Crimes Bill, which focuses on criminalizing data theft and interference, was rrecently adopted by the Select Committee on Security and Justice of Parliament.
The scope of this bill includes criminalizing the distribution of harmful data messages, imposing an obligation to report cybercrime, and creating offenses that influence cybercrime.
It brings a series of changes in the way messages sent through platforms such as WhatsApp are treated and includes strong consequences for infringement.
An earlier version of the bill stated that a person who submits any of the following will be punished with a fine or imprisonment for a period not to exceed three years:
- A message that incites material damage or violence
- A message that threatens people with property damage or violence.
- A message that illegally contains an intimate image.
The committee said it had agreed to a series of amendments to the bill, several of which would specifically focus on the disclosure of private messages made through platforms such as WhatsApp.
Now Read: How To Protect Yourself After Experian Data Breach
[ad_2]
