Controversial social media blogger Musa Khawula appeared in court on Tuesday over comments he made on his platform about businessman Zesimdumise "Ze" Nxumalo between October 10 and 12 last year. Khawula has been charged with crimen injuria over his comments about Nxumalo.
His case has ignited conversations about cyberbullying. To elaborate further on cybercriminals and what recourse there is for victims, Sowetan spoke to Lucien Pierce about section 19 of the Cybercrimes Act and hate speech. Pierce is an attorney at PPM Attorneys, a Johannesburg law firm specialising in cybersecurity, data protection and telecommunications law.
Sowetan: How prevalent is cyberbullying in SA?
Pierce: There are no stats available yet but it does happen. Most of us will hear about the most prominent cases. I do think there is a lot going on, particularly in schools and many cases that we don’t hear about. The interesting thing the government has done in the Cybercrimes Act is that it has a provision for a requirement for prosecutors to now start keeping statistics of cases prosecuted so it can be aware.
Sowetan: How difficult is it to get a conviction on cyberbullying cases?
Pierce: Because the Cybercrimes Act is quite new, with just four years, there haven’t been that many prosecutions under it. You will need to lay a charge to initiate an investigation.
Sowetan: What does the Cybercrimes Act say?
Pierce: The act was enacted to ensure the types of crimes that were not covered by our ordinary criminal law, mainly crimes committed online using a computer. Its intention is to make sure that any crime committed using electronics can be prosecuted and we can be protected.
Sowetan: What actions can victims take to report cyberbullying?
Pierce: The Cybercrimes Act allows individuals to lay criminal charges against those who send explicit pictures without consent, threatening them. They can go to the police station; ideally you would want to speak to a police officer who has been trained on cybercrime. On that note the government is making plans to train as many police officers as possible on cybercrime.
Sowetan: Why do perpetrators of this crime continue to fall into the trap of this crime?
Pierce: They tend to forget that they are in a public forum and whatever they say can come across as nasty or vicious than if they were sitting with that person. Some things social media causes us to forget is to exercise restraint in how we deal with people. Another thing, there is also little education around the crime. We should educate people from an early age as to how to behave online, warn them about the dangers as well.
Sowetan: What are the dangers around this criminal act?
Pierce: It's something that can be easily hidden, particularly if it is a teenager. However, if cyberbullying is done online, particularly if it is viewed by many followers of the person doing the bullying, it can have a major impact on the recipient that could lead to psychological effects which could result in them harming themselves.
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