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Durban - There is car insurance, home insurance and now there is social media insurance.
The University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Craig Blewett, a senior lecturer in the School of Information Systems and Technology, said while people were very active on social media, they were not educated enough about what they should be posting online.
Blewett’s comments came after an insurance provider announced that it would offer a social media legal defence product.
While the crimen injuria case against Penny Sparrow made headlines, there are other lesser-known cases in which people have been taken to court for inappropriate social media comments.
In a case this year, a Durban woman was stopped from badmouthing her child’s father after the man went to court.
Simon Colman, head of commercial solutions at SHA Specialist Underwriters, said this week that it had launched a product that people could buy to cover expenses for defending themselves against allegations of privacy invasion or defamation on social media.
“Parents can also obtain this to cover the actions of their children on social media, as children are often not aware of the real impact their digital footprint can have. This product is aptly named the Social media Liability Insurance Policy (SLip uP).”
Blewett said while some content was obviously inappropriate, such as defamatory racial or religious remarks, most people were unaware of the risks involved in posting in “private spaces”, such as on a private WhatsApp group or Instagram, and liking or sharing the views of others.
“There is no such thing as private when it’s online. Inappropriate content finds its way into the public domain and the consequences are the same as if it were public in the first place.
“The second situation where people are unaware of the risks is when they like, share or belong to a group where members are making inappropriate remarks. Simply belonging to a group where others are posting offensive material, even if you are not posting it yourself, is enough cause for prosecution.”
Colman said the policy would not cover a person if they published racial slurs. He said the policy was a legal defence cover so the policyholder would have access to attorneys and it covered awards made by the court.
Blewett said financial implications arising from litigation was only part of the issue. “While insurance may provide some financial support, the larger issue is the damage inappropriate posts cause. While financial consequences will eventually go away, our digital footprint remains. If you wouldn’t be happy with everyone seeing your post or photo, don’t share it. Besides hacking attacks, there are many other ways your private messages can and will get out. What you post now will come back and hurt you 20 years later.”
The Mercury
