King Kendrick
- pg. 5
Mixologist Dino Batista - pg. 10
Perdeby
Tuks se amptelike studentekoerant / Official Tuks student newspaper / Kuranta ya baithuti ya semmušo ya Tuks
7March2016
year78issue5
Think twice before tweeting
Laws you should be aware of
MARKO SVICEVIC
Constitution of South Africa Bill of Rights Section 16: Freedom of Expression
UP warns against irresponsible use of social media
On 2 March, UP management informed students of possible consequences they may face should students be involved in irresponsible social media use. Following recent violent protest action at the university, UP has warned students that it could suspend, expel, or even lay criminal charges against them for liking, retweeting or being tagged in posts which incite violence or constitute hate speech. The statement was posted under the new notifications module called “UP Communication 2016” which aims to “increase the effectiveness of communication between UP and its students.” The statement explains that “not only ‘posts’ or ‘tweets’, but also ‘likes’, ‘tagging’ and ‘retweets’ of posts on social media, which incite violence, harm or constitute ‘hate speech’ are in contravention of the University’s Disciplinary Code [for] students”. Students whose names are “coupled with any ‘likes’, ‘tags’, or ‘retweets’ of this nature” may face disciplinary action and may even be suspended or expelled from UP. In addition to this, civil or criminal action against such students may also be instituted. According to UP spokesperson Anna-Retha Bouwer, the notice serves as a reminder to students of their rights in terms of the UP Constitution for Student Governance, and also the responsibilities attached to these rights. “According to the University of Pretoria Constitution for Student Governance, Section 14, students have the right to freedom of expression, which includes freedom of the student media, freedom of
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, which includes – (a) freedom of the press and other media; (b) freedom to receive or impart information or ideas; (c) freedom of artistic creativity; and (d) academic freedom and freedom of scientific research.
Photo for illustrative purposes only. Photo: Shen Scott
academic expression and scientific research, freedom to receive information from the University and Student governance structures on matters that affect her or his rights, and freedom of clothing and appearance,” said Bouwer. Bouwer further explained that “the notice sent out is a reminder of these rights and the conditions of these rights, and that [m]any statements on social media during the protest action, but not only limited to the protest action, were in contravention of these conditions.” She said that in some cases, threats of violence to property and to certain individuals were expressed on social media. Speaking to Perdeby, SRC secretary Thabo Shingange said, “Although we [the SRC] recognise the need for responsible interaction and commentary, the current nature of the statement [notice], we believe, creates a sense of victimisation and limitation of speech and engagement
among students.” Shingange said that the SRC had received many complaints from the student body after the statement was released and that the SRC would therefore be challenging the notice once they have undertaken the necessary research on the matter. “These tactics, with the [stated] intention to create a safe environment, ironically instil a sense of fear among students, and thus [is] not conducive to the moral of an academic institution,” added Shingange. UP’s decision to hold students liable for their social media presence has brought to light the possibility of students and staff being suspended or dismissed for apparent social media misconduct. According to social media experts and attorneys Emma Sadleir and Tamsyn de Beer in their book Don’t Film Yourself Having Sex, what you say or do online can have the following consequences:
(c) advocacy of hatred that is based on race, ethnicity, gender or religion, and that constitutes incitement to cause harm. Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act Section 10: Prohibition of Hate Speech
(2) The right in subsection (1) does not extend to –
(1) [N]o person may publish, propagate, advocate or communicate words based on one or more of the prohibited grounds, against any person, that could reasonably be construed to demonstrate a clear intention to -
(a) propaganda for war; (b) incitement of imminent violence; or
(a) be hurtful; (b) be harmful or to incite harm; (c) promote or propagate hatred
• It can result in a prison sentence. • You can be sued. • You can be fired from your job. • You can be expelled from your school or university. • It can do significant damage to the brand and reputation of a company. • It can do irreparble damage to your personal reputation. • It can jeopardise your personal safety. In a 2012 social media seminar by law firm Bowman Gilfillan director Rosalind Davey, she explained that there was “no legislation explicitly dealing with media in South Africa, and employers therefore needed to look to other statutes and the common law to determine social media law”. Davey further pointed to several recent cases in South African law which saw employees being dismissed because of social media misconduct.
Speaking to News24, director of Werksmans Attorneys Bradley Workman Davies explained that employers can dismiss workers for inappropriate, insensitive and racist content posted on social media. “This [is] because companies could face a backlash from customers, prospective customers and other stakeholders because of [that] association ... [with the employee],” he explains. This is not the first university incident relating to social media misconduct. In 2014 two students were expelled from a UP residence after posting pictures of themselves wearing domestic worker’s outfits and their faces smeared with black paint, an incident commonly referred to as “Blackface”. A similar incident followed at the University of Stellenbosch earlier this year when two students were temporarily suspended from their residence.