By. Rev. Lawrence Sunday Ogwang
Definition of Social Media:
Social media according to Wikipedia, are
interactive computer-mediated technologies or
platforms that facilitate the creation and sharing of information,
ideas, career interests and other forms of expression via virtual
communities and networks. Users typically access social media
services via web-based technologies on desktops
and laptops, or
download
services that offer social media functionality to their mobile devices.
Examples of these social media platforms are: Facebook, Tweeter, Instagram,
whatsApp, etc https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media
Because of the autonomy
involved in the creation and use of these platforms, social media has turned
out to be a crime distribution network and a fertile ground for unlawful
offences. According to the Ugandan law,
there are very many offences one can commit on social media and here below are
some of these offences:
Defamation:
Defamation is the
making of a false statement concerning a person or business that damages that
person’s or business’s reputation. If a false statement is made and that person
or business’s reputation is damaged, there can be legal consequences for the
person who made the statement. Defamation applies to both written and oral
statements that are published to third parties. Publication includes the posting
of material on the Internet. If a defamatory statement is made verbally, it’s
called slander. If a defamatory statement is published in writing, it’s called
libel.
Impersonation:
Impersonation is to intentionally copy
another person's characteristics, such as their
behavior, speech,
appearance, or expressions, especially to make people
laugh
or fraud. Or an attempt to deceive someone by pretending that you are another person.
This, according to the Ugandan law, is criminal.
For instance, a famous Ugandan
comedian, moving about with the name teacher Mpamire, who acts president
Museveni in words, dressing and behavior. If one day he decides to act
Muesveni`s voice to attain respect for himself, he would be liable of
committing the crime of impersonation.
Stalking:
Stalking refers
to repeated harassing or threatening behavior by an individual, such as
following a person, appearing at a person's home or place of business, making
harassing phone calls, leaving written messages or objects, or vandalizing a
person's property.
A good example
of this is what happened to the woman MP of Kabarole district Sylivia Rwabwogo
who was being stalked by a student named Brian Isiko of YMCA Jinja Branch. On
the 6th July 2018, the MP walked to court, pointing an accusing
finger to the 25year old student who was consequently jailed for two years by
trial magistrate, Ms Gladys Kamasanyu.
Daily monitor.co.ug obtained from (https://www.google.com/am...)
Social engineering
attack:
This is getting
what you want through wrong means or
deception on a social platform. An attacker uses human interaction (social skills) to obtain or compromise information about an organization or its computer systems. It is a social manipulation of large groups of people to meet political or economic ends. Today, it’s taken on an additional meaning in the cyber security world. For our purposes, social engineering refers to gaining access to information by exploiting human psychology.
deception on a social platform. An attacker uses human interaction (social skills) to obtain or compromise information about an organization or its computer systems. It is a social manipulation of large groups of people to meet political or economic ends. Today, it’s taken on an additional meaning in the cyber security world. For our purposes, social engineering refers to gaining access to information by exploiting human psychology.
A classic example of this starts with a friend
on your network sending you a message asking for a quick loan to get car
repairs so he/she can get home for work on Monday, and ends with you finding
out a few days later that your friend never needed car repairs and that the
person you transferred money to was a scam artist.
Malware:
Social media or networking offers golden
opportunities for virus and malware developers so that users clicking on links,
opening attachments, and responding to messages on networks can become victims
without knowing it, resulting in adware, viruses, and malware being loaded onto
their machines. In December 2010, antivirus developer Sophos reported that 40%
of social network users had encountered malicious attacks. These malicious
programs are highly detested by the Ugandan law.
Posting
videos of criminal activity online:
One of the crimes that users of social media
commit knowingly or unknowingly is taking videos of criminal activity and
posting them on line. Some criminals are known for boasting about with the
crime they have done on social media. Alshabab militias have always fallen into
this trap. When they have to kill somebody, many times they have taken video
clips of the crime and posting it on the social media. This is an offense
according to media law in Uganda because when people watch these clips, they
are tempted to do practice it, hence perpetrating the crime.
Online
intimidation:
This is sometimes referred to as cyber bulling.
It is when someone uses technology to send mean, threatening, or embarrassing
messages to or about another person. It might be in a text, e-mail, message, or
in a post online. Cyber bullying can be anonymous, which can sometimes make it
even worse. It also has a wider audience, and can spread quickly.
Finally,
targets of cyber bullying often feel like they can’t get away from the
bullying. If someone is bullying you at school, when you leave for the day it’s
over. But cyber bullying can follow you home, and continue all night. It has a horrible
effect on the victim.
Selling
and buying illegal items online:
Social media is another platform where people can
sell and buy things. This is technically called E-commerce. The crime comes in
when people begin selling and buying illegal items on line or using any social
platform. Example of this can be firearms, narcotic drugs, ivory, gold and many
others. Selling and buying illegal items is highly discouraged by the Ugandan
law.
Drug laws and drug crimes have gotten lots of
attention in the past decade. Laws in every state and country and at the
federal level prohibit the possession, manufacture, and sale of certain
controlled substances -- including drugs like marijuana, methamphetamine,
ecstasy, cocaine, and others.
Posting
pornographic materials online:
Pornography is the representation of
sexual behavior in books, pictures, statues, motion pictures, and other media
that is intended to cause sexual excitement. The distinction between
pornography (illicit and condemned material) and erotica (which is broadly
tolerated) is largely subjective and reflects changing community
standards. The word pornography, derived from the Greek porni
(“prostitute”) and graphein (“to write”), was originally defined as
any work of art or literature depicting the life of prostitutes. https://www.britannica.com/topic/pornography
Terrorism:
Terrorists use online platforms and other
computer technologies to kill masses in a given period of time using tactics
such as pop-up messages on social media that are connected to dangerous bombs.
For example;. the July 2010 Kampala
attacks were suicide bombings carried out against crowds watching a
screening of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final match at two
locations in Kampala,
the capital city of Uganda, on 11 July 2010.
The attacks left
74 dead and 71 injured. Al-Shabaab, an Islamist
militia based in Somalia
that has ties to Al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the blasts as
retaliation for Ugandan support for AMISOM. In March 2015, the trial
of 13 Kenyan, Ugandan and Tanzanian alleged perpetrators of the bombings began
at the High Court of Uganda. Sources
confirm that that attacker’s pop-up phone message to one of them destined for
suicide.
Hacking and Fraud:
Although
logging into a friend's social media account to post an embarrassing status
message may be forgivable between friends, it, technically, can
be a serious crime.
Additionally, creating fake accounts, or impersonation accounts, to trick
people (as opposed to just remaining anonymous), can also be punished as fraud
depending on the actions the fake/impersonation account holder takes.
From
the above discussed points, we can ultimately say that there are many crimes or
offences one can commit on social media. Come are minor others are major. One
therefore needs to be careful on what we post and do on social media because
any offence committed on these platforms, have legal consequences
What
constitutes defamation on social media?
As stated before, defamation
is the making of a false statement concerning a person or business that damages
that person’s or business’s reputation. If a false statement is made and that
person or business’s reputation is damaged, there can be legal consequences for
the person who made the statement. Defamation applies to both written and oral
statements that are published to third parties. Publication includes the posting
of material on the Internet. If a defamatory statement is made verbally, it’s
called slander. If a defamatory statement is published in writing, it’s called
libel.
There is no defamation
law or act that talks about if exhaustively but there are some generally accepted rules according to common
law and social media act as to what constitutes defamation. Common law is the system of law which is based on judges` decision
and on custom rather than written laws. It is derived from precedents established
by the courts. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/
If you believe you
have been "defamed," to prove it you usually have to show there's
been a statement that is all of the following:
- Published
- False
- Injurious
- Unprivileged
- Can be proven or disproven
- Believed by a reasonable person
Let's
look at each of these defamation claim
elements in detail.
First, the "statement" can be
spoken, written, pictured, or even gestured. Because written statements last
longer than spoken statements, most courts, juries, and insurance companies
consider libel more harmful
than slander.
"Published"
means that a third party heard or saw the statement -- that is, someone other
than the person who made the statement or the person the statement was about.
"Published" doesn't necessarily mean that the statement was printed
in a book -- it just needs to have been made public through
social media, television, radio, speeches,
gossip, or even loud conversation. Of course, it could also have been written
in magazines, books, newspapers, leaflets, or on picket signs.
A
defamatory statement must be false -- otherwise it's not considered
damaging. Even terribly mean or disparaging things are not defamatory if the
shoe fits. Most opinions don't count as defamation because they can't be proved
to be objectively false. For instance, when a reviewer says, "That was the
worst book I've read all year," she's not defaming the author, because the
statement can't be proven to be false.
The statement must be
"injurious to a person of reputation" Since the whole point of defamation law is to take care of
injuries to reputation, those suing for defamation must show how their
reputations were hurt by the false statement -- for example, the person lost
work; was shunned by neighbors, friends, or family members; or was harassed by
the press. Someone who already had a terrible reputation most likely won't
collect much in a defamation suit.
Unprivileged. To qualify as a defamatory
statement, the offending statement must be "unprivileged." Under some circumstances,
you cannot sue someone for defamation even if they make a statement that can be
proved false. For example, witnesses who testify falsely in court or at a
deposition can't be sued. (Although witnesses who testify to something they know
is false could theoretically be prosecuted for perjury.) Lawmakers themselves
also enjoy this privilege: They aren't liable for statements made in the
legislative chamber or in official materials, even if they say or write things
that would otherwise be defamatory.
Another
example, if the statement repeats material from a court proceeding, or other
public documents, the statement are privileged. Privileged statements are not
subject to liability in a lawsuit. Or if the statement repeats material from a
parliamentary proceeding, it’s a court matter.
The
statement cannot be an opinion.
Statements that cannot be proven to be true or false and are opinion cannot for
the basis of a claim for defamation. If a statement can be proven or disproven
by objective fact and the statement is false, a person may be liable for
defamation.
The
statement must be believable by a reasonable person. If one cannot seriously believe the statement was true, it
does not constitute defamation.
In conclusion,
defamation is a serious crime. Users of social media should take great care on
what we say and write on any social platform. There could be other components
of defamation meaning that these above are not the only ones.
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