South Africans who have updated their Whatsapp application in the past day, will have noticed a message from Whatsapp which states, “Messages you send to this chat and calls are now secured with end-to-end encryption. Tap for more info.”
Legal Counsel, Taryn Simpson explained why this has led to such a heated legal debate the world over.
The fact that Whatsapp messages are now encrypted means that they are now difficult to ascertain.
“Without encryption we could have cases of intercepted messages where confidential information has been provided over Whatsapp, making it easy for criminals to commit crimes through access to this information,” said Simpson. It is for this reason that she sees the new Whatsapp encryption as a step in the right direction.
However, like most things, there is a negative side and Simpson explained that as the South African law stands today with Whatsapp, criminals can communicate over Whatsapp without any fear of their messages being intercepted. “This is a threat to public security and the best interests of the public,” said Simpson.
“Whatsapp is an American offering and it falls under international law,” said Simpson. She further explained that all forms of communications that we, as South Africans, use, is governed by the South African Telecommunications Act.
Simpson explained the difference between America and South Africa with regards to Whatsapp when she said that the American government has passed laws which enable the government to intercept any and all messages, including those sent on Whatsapp. Given the new Whatsapp laws, she believes that South Africa will follow in the steps of America, especially where public security is involved.
“The Whatsapp and other forms of communications discussion is not a new one in South Africa and parliament met with the Independent Communications Association of South Africa on 16 January to discuss ways of controlling mobile devices,” said Simpson.
An example of where Whatsapp messages can be used in criminal matters was during the Oscar trial whereby Whatsapp messages were used as key evidence. Simpson explained that messages sent on Whatsapp now will pose a legal hurdle as legal consideration will need to be taken into account when legal arguments want to site the contents of Whatsapp messages for legal proceedings.
There are definitely two sides to this legal debate as one has to weigh up the right to privacy and the importance of national security.
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