In recent years, we have seen a dramatic increase in cybercrimes and violation of personal information, thus prompting the promulgation of various laws to combat this boom.

POPIA has been a hot topic since it officially came into effect on 1 July 2021.  It’s the Act which protects your personal information. However, the Act does not apply to “the processing of personal information in the course of a purely personal or household activity”. This means that your friend can still post a photo with you in it and tag you on their social media without your implied, tacit or express consent and will not be in breach of the Act. 

On the other side of the coin, the Cybercrimes Act which has been assented to on 1 June 2021 but not yet commenced, limits what you can post to your social media platforms. Airing out grievances, displaying anger or gathering support, whether on a Facebook post, WhatsApp Story, Instagram Poll, Reel or Tweet has become very common these days. 

Emotions get the best of us and sometimes this would lead to inciting or encouraging violence and in simple terms, bullying another person. Any person (the Act defines ‘person’ as natural and juristic), who might use their social platforms to threaten or cause damage to a person or their property, can be liable to a fine or a period of imprisonment not exceeding fifteen (15 years) or both. For instance, you might decide to run a Poll on your Instagram story to gather support for your feud with a company. Or simply venting, because they might not be adhering to certain standards. Maybe they did not meet your expectations or you are accusing them of being incompetent; you are doing damage to their property and may be convicted under the Cybercrime Act. 

Sharing and making memes for the laughs and likes is also not worth it if you may be convicted as a cybercriminal. The Act also makes provision for instances where a person shares an “intimate image”, whether real or simulated, without the consent of the implicated person, as a crime.  So, for example, sharing a photo of a person's face pasted onto a cartoon character's nude body may be seen as sharing or creating a simulated intimate image. Sharing it on your WhatsApp story or forwarding it to your contacts in a chat will make you guilty of cybercrime. 

Make sure you brush up on your social media etiquette and comply with the POPI Act and the Cybercrimes Act, or you may face dire consequences.