Cybercrimes Bill

South Africa’s Cybercrimes Bill has finally been signed to law by President Cyril Ramaphosa. Now an act of parliament, the bill seeks to bring the country’s cybersecurity laws in line with the rest of the world. One of the features of the new bill is the creation of offences and the criminalisation of, amongst others, the disclosure of data messages which are harmful. What this means is that if you send someone a WhatsApp message containing illegal material or with violent intentions, you can now be prosecuted for it. Examples of data messages now criminalised include: Messages which incite violence or damage to property. Messages which threaten persons with violence or damage to property. Messages which contain an intimate image sent without the subject’s consent. However, this isn’t just...