Duane Brady, a South African man from Eldorado Park, a city just south of Johannesburg had to show up in court for making rude remarks about his wife’s friend on Facebook. Danielle Cox, his wife’s friend wasn’t too appreciative of the comments so she made sure that he was punished for it.
Brady appeared at the Kliptown Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday with a charge of crimen injuria. Captain Phillemon Khorombi mentioned that Brady did not plead and he was in custody until he had his bail application complete.
Faan Coetzee, a lawyer in Johannesburg stated “If you write something on Facebook or on a website, it’s as good a shouting it from a stage.”
“You mustn’t think what you say on the web is less serious or less valid,” added Coetzee. “If you are then charged and wanted to argue that it was a joke, you’ll have to prove it – as you would have to do in any other case.”
It’s interesting to see how things work in Johannesburg. Be careful when using Facebook in South Africa, you never know if you’ll end up like Brady.
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I don’t believe this is an issue unique to South Africa. Using Facebook as a platform to make defamatory (or libellous) comments may well land you in hot water in many countries. It is certainly an interesting case for us in South Africa because of Facebook’s popularity and the novelty of the social Web here. I have written about this issue in more detail on my site if your readers are interested in an expanded perspective: http://webtechlaw.com/eldorado-park-man-prosecuted-criminal-defamation-facebook