It probably started out of necessity – an easy way for your “homies” to catch up and chew the fat.

Watch out, though, because you could find yourself in trouble if you’re the admin of any spicy WhatsApp groups, claims social media law specialist Emma Sadleir.

Speaking on Radio 702, Sadleir warned that “WhatsApp group admins could be held legally liable for what’s said on the group, and could be sued for defamation,” reports MyBroadband.

Although it has been the case for a while now, the issue has once again been brought to light after an incident in India where a group admin was arrested after a group member shared an edited image of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The person who created and posted the image was also arrested.

But that’s India – what about in South Africa?

Sadleir explains that the situation is similar to India, where a WhatsApp group admin “assumes responsibility for what is posted in the group”:

Sadleir said the “law of South Africa treats a WhatsApp administrator as if they are like an editor of a newspaper and you are responsible for the content of its pages”.

“The learning from this case is that when you are the administrator of a page and someone posts something obscene, controversial, or illegal, you have to immediately dissociate yourself from it,” she said.

Sadleir advised WhatsApp group admins to clearly state that they are “dissociating themselves from what’s been said on the group if it is defamatory in any way”.

Might as well copy that quote and paste it into your Notes so it’s easy to access, because we all know what goes on in some groups.

Let this be a warning to you all, because you never know who was accidentally added to your group by drunk Jimmy last night.

[source:mybroadband]