With over one billion users on its ship, Facebook-owned WhatApp is the most used direct messaging apps worldwide. On a daily basis, billions of calls and messages are circulated on the app but users, especially in India, should be extremely careful regarding the content they send on the app.
Over the years, the app has gained immense popularity for being the most convenient and protected (end-to-end encryption) way to be in touch with family members, friends, and acquaintances at any time, from any part of the world.
However, chatting on the app ‘freely’ is equivalent to lurking on dangerous grounds, as there have been myriad cases where people have faced hazardous penalties for posting something as trivial as a picture on the app.
In this article, we list down some of the events that have landed people in jail in the past, with an aim to give you a fair idea about what is safe to be distributed on the app.
Offensive texts on ‘prominent’ personalities, religion
Defamation, an ambiguous notion, has landed a large number of people in India in jail for posting content on social media, especially WhatsApp and Facebook.
Although the draconian Section 66A of the IT ACT 200 under the IPC was taken down by the Supreme Court last year in March, arrests have still taken place for posting content that the government or police found objectionable, and unfortunately, things have not yet loosened up, as expected after the elimination of this law.
While the numbers of arrests have reduced since the subjugation of the law, there have been recent episodes where people were put behind bars for sharing content liberally on the platform.
According to an article on Business Standard, an incident that took place yesterday led to the booking of a CRPF jawan (soldier) and journalist for posting objectionable content on the platform.
The journalist Alok Pathak had initially created a group on WhatsApp and the CRPF jawan had posted content that was not well expected by a certain community.
Although Pathak had not sent anything, group administrators are liable for everything that is circulated in a group and hence the arrest. If you are a group admin, make sure you regulate objectionable texts, videos and images to stay on the safer side of the boat.
In another incident, a leader from the Samajwadi Party Sahil Mehra was arrested last year in connection to some objectionable images of politicians including Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati.
Not only prominent members but posting something related to religion can also land you in deep trouble, and have, in fact, got people arrested in the past.
In 2015, cops from Mahrashtra arrested a UP teen for posting something that led to a communal riot. For one VHP leader, things got out of proportion after he posted an offensive comment related to Prophet Muhammad; he was immediately arrested after a few Muslim groups complained to the police about the message, as per a report on the Indian Express.
Other than that, there have been incidents where people have been arrested for posting something as insignificant as a picture or video, which was found to be religiously offensive by some people.
In view of all these events, users should be extremely careful regarding the content they share on WhatsApp.
Posts on pornography, abuse
Another way users can land up in trouble is by circulating porn or violence in videos, especially related to the youth.
The platform has been abused heavily by sex offenders who have gone to the extent of sharing vulgar MMS clips on groups. Also, people who normally share NSFW content on groups friends might also bump into trouble in case of a complaint.
Read: Techie posts child porn in WhatsApp group, held
A mere complaint can get you arrested as was the case with two men from Delhi, who were booked for sharing pornographic content and vulgar jokes after a complaint was filed by a woman advocate.
In one funny incident, two men got arrested last year as they posted porn on an unfamiliar group with SSP of Mathura as a member. A probe was ordered and a subsequent complaint was filed against the duo, which landed them in jail.
Although it is not advised to share NSFW content on social media sites, if you really want to show something to your friend, make sure you use a more secure channel and not any unknown group.
Paper leaks and online cheating
As you all know, there are numerous cases of cheating and fraud going on in the country, especially related to the field of education.
In April 2016, three examinees were caught cheating via WhatsApp in Bihar Combined Entrance Competitive Examination in Begusarai district. Even papers are being circulated at a large scale on the instant messaging platform, which is due to the increasing number of children with smartphones.
In fact, more children are now using it as a medium to cheat but parents should take extra care to keep a tab on their children. Not only does it harm the education system of the country but is enough to end someone’s career as well. These kinds of activities on WhatsApp are really dangerous and should be avoided.
While some of the arrests and criminal procedures are justified, others which are related to free speech still haunt the nation’s populace.
Unfortunately, posting an opinion or any ‘funny’ image on Whatsapp still remains perilous, as you have no idea how recipients will perceive and propagate it.
So next time when you are posting anything controversial on the platform, do think twice before you hit the send button.
