Kerala HC frees WhatsApp admin from responsibility over members' offensive posts
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Kochi: Group admins of WhatsApp groups are ever wary of posts by members to the group. Any errant post could contain objectionable content, and it is hugely risky too.The almost any admin could do in such a situation is to get the post deleted by the member who has posted it.
The admin cannot personally delete the post, as there is no feature as yet in the app for it.
Reports say that WhatsApp is testing a feature for admins to delete members' posts.
Now, Kerala High Court has insightfully freed group admins from being held liable for objectionable content posted by a group's member.
The only privilege that a group admin enjoys, Justice Dr Kauser Edappagath said in the judgment, over other members is that the admin can add or remove members of the group.
"He does not have physical or any control otherwise over what a member of a group is posting thereon. He cannot moderate or censor messages in a group. Thus, the Creator or Administrator of a WhatsApp group, merely acting in that capacity, cannot be vicariously held liable for any objectionable content posted by a member of the group." Justice Kauser Edappagath was quoted as saying.
The court was considering a petition by a 22-year-old man hailing from Cherthala. He challenged the FIR filed by Ernakulam City police after a member to his WhatsApp group posted child porn in it. He was booked for being the admin of the WhatsApp group.
Quashing the case against the petitioner, the court said vicarious liability can be fastened on a person only if there is a provision in the statute governing the field, reports say.
The court held that in the absence of penal law pertaining to vicarious liability, the admin of a WhatsApp group cannot be held liable for a group member's objectionable post.
Holding an admin liable for others' posts in the group goes against basic principles of criminal law, according to the court.