MESSAGING giant WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption to keep your chats secure.
People can still take screenshots of your replies, but is it illegal to share private messages? Here’s all you need to know.
Is it illegal to share private WhatsApp messages?
WhatsApp has become such a feature of our personal and professional lives that its easy to forget just how much information we share with others online.
This is fine with people you trust, and the platform’s use of end-to-end encryption means it’s a pretty secure means of communication.
But the app doesn’t currently prevent users from taking screenshots as banking apps do, for example.
This means it’s possible for people to screenshot conversations and share them as a still image elsewhere.
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But is doing this a crime? The answer is fairly complicated.
According Iain Wilson, Partner at specialist media and litigation solicitors Brett Wilson LLP, doing so could amount to a criminal offense under some circumstances, like if the messages were obtained without authorisation (for example, signing into someone else’s account without their permission).
“This could constitute an offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990,” Iain says. “An offence may also be committed under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 if the private information is deployed as part of a ‘course of conduct’.
“Course of conduct” refers to an act that occurs more than once within a year and demonstrates an ongoing purpose to cause substantial distress.
The first offence has a maximum prison sentence of two years, the second six months.
Sharing private information from a message could also result in a misuse of private information claim if the court decides the subject has a “reasonable expectation of privacy”.
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You could even be liable if you share sensitive information to the wrong person by mistake, and the claimant wouldn’t be required to prove you passed the material on maliciously.
“A successful claimant would be entitled to seek damages/compensation for (a) their loss of control over their private information and (b) any distress/injury to feelings they have suffered,” Iain says.
“They would also be entitled to seek an injunction (sometimes referred to in the press as a ‘gagging order’) prohibiting the further disclosure of information.”
A judge determines whether or not information can be considered “private” on a fact-specific basis.
Trivial information such as the fact that someone’s bank account is overdrawn or that they’ve had chickenpox isn’t likely to be considered sufficient to justify a claim.
Iain says while claims do happen, they’re pretty rare due to how much it costs to enter civil proceedings.
Why it is illegal to share a screenshot of a private conversation?
The illegality of sharing screenshots is determined by the factors mentioned above.
Sharing screengrabs could amount to a claim if, you breach privacy, obtain material without authorisation, or if the material is used to cause harassment.
Iain recommends anyone who has received private information not to share it without the consent of the sender.
This applies to various means of communication, not just WhatsApp.
