How to avoid libel claims linked to WhatsApp messages

WHATSAPP messages are at the centre of a growing number of legal battles, and a casual chat can escalate into a defamation claim.

- ZELDA VENTER

This is the warning of legal expert Ann-Suhet Marx, Director and Head of Litigation at Gauteng-based law firm VDM Incorporated. According to her, screenshots, deleted messages, and voice notes are reshaping the country’s courtrooms.

“WhatsApp has become South Afri-cas most trusted communication tool — and one of its biggest legal blind spots. From neighbourhood disputes to workplace conflicts to high-stakes business fallouts, WhatsApp messages are now at the centre of a growing number of legal battles”

Marx says she’s seen WhatsApp change from just a messaging platform to a digital “paper” trail, with real legal consequences in recent years, leaving the public “dangerously under-informed”. “WhatsApp has become the modern witness, but unlike traditional documents, WhatsApp messages are fluid, editable and easily manipulated. That creates both opportunity and risk — especially when reputations are on the line.

Marx warns that under South African law, online defamation carries the same legal implications as statements made in print or broadcast media. For a claim to succeed, publication, defamation, wrongfulness and intention or negligence must, among others, be proven.