Latest news with #MudunwaziMakamu
The Citizen
an hour ago
- The Citizen
Meta shuts down accounts posting sexual content of SA school children
Meta was given until 12pm on Tuesday to shut down all the accounts and channels linked to the distribution of sexual content. Anonymous Instagram accounts and WhatsApp Channels distributing explicit child pornography involving South African school children have been shut down This is according to Meta, which was given until 12pm on Tuesday to shut down all the accounts and channels linked to the distribution of sexual content involving school children and to 'permanently disable the creator of the WhatsApp channels and Instagram profiles listed' from creating any further WhatsApp channels and Instagram profiles. Judgment Gauteng High Court Judge Mudunwazi Makamu handed down the judgment in an order sought by Digital Law Company, directed by social media law expert Emma Sadlier, in Johannesburg on Monday. In the urgent ruling, Makamu agreed with the arguments by advocate Ben Winks that children have been victimised by the publication of lurid and sexually explosive material that was published on Instagram accounts and WhatsApp channels. Sadlier welcomed the ruling. ALSO READ: Meta ordered to shut down Instagram accounts and WhatsApp channels posting sexual content of SA schoolchildren [VIDEO] Meta responds In response to The Citizen, a Meta spokesperson stated that the company has taken action as ordered. 'We have zero tolerance for child sexual exploitation and are committed to ensuring the safety of all users on our platforms. 'We can confirm that the accounts we have been able to identify have been shut down, and we have submitted reports to the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in line with applicable laws. We will continue to engage with law enforcement and respond to valid legal requests,' the Meta spokesperson said. Explicit content According to Sadlier, the content on the channels included several explicit images and videos, including that of a Grade 11 pupil from a school south of Johannesburg having sex with a girl in a room, while another video shows a Grade 12 boy having sex with a Grade 9 girl in a school bathroom, apparently filmed by another pupil. 'From time to time, it appears that Meta administrators will delete or block some of the pages and channels (presumably in response to user complaints). However, not long after, the same page or channel will be active again, or another channel will crop up replicating the previous channel – and the distribution of illegal content continues unabated,' Sadlier said. Sadlier warned parents to check their children's phones. 'I just want to alert parents to one of the biggest issues, and that is that these kids are all joining WhatsApp channels… The kind of content being circulated on these channels is horrific, child sexual abuse images, child pornography'. ALSO READ: Communications department welcomes ruling on Meta's WhatsApp and Instagram
IOL News
8 hours ago
- Business
- IOL News
High Court's urgent order to Meta: Shut down child pornography accounts
Meta was ordered by the court to shut down child pornographic accounts. Image: Supplied While the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, on Monday evening ordered Meta to shut down several anonymous Instagram accounts and WhatsApp channels which are distributing explicit child pornography depicting South African school children, this had not yet been done by Tuesday afternoon. Judge Mudunwazi Makamu also ruled that Meta had to, before noon Tuesday, furnish The Digital Law Company (DLC) with all information in its possession pertaining to the creator(s) of the WhatsApp channels and Instagram profiles listed in the urgent application. Rorke Wilson of the DLC on Tuesday said as the matter was heard on Monday evening, the deadline for Meta to shut down the accounts and channels was set to be midnight on Monday. 'However, Meta has not complied with any of the demands and all the deadlines have passed,' Wilson said, adding that they are now contemplating next steps. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading The DLC turned to court on an extremely urgent basis, which was not opposed, when it became aware of the explicit content involving children on Instagram and WhatsApp. Emma Sadleir Berkowitz, social media law expert and the founder of DLC, said in an affidavit that DLC was made aware of some social media accounts depicting shocking material relating to children on Friday. Wilson, meanwhile, had already been dealing with complaints from victims depicted on three other platforms the day before, which related to pupils of schools in Pretoria and Centurion. Upon investigation, the shocking nature of these posts became clear, as they involve the mass distribution of unlawful material involving children to large unidentified audiences who are members of so-called WhatsApp 'community channels', as well as Instagram profiles, Sadleir said. 'The content consists of explicit pornographic images and videos depicting children. The images and videos are often accompanied by other information relating to the individual child depicted, including their name, grade, school, as well as lewd or otherwise offensive descriptions relating to the individual's purported behaviour,' she stated in her affidavit. The material is sourced from the community by sharing links to an anonymous uploading service. Sadleir said that the creator and operator of the Instagram profiles and WhatsApp channels appears to be the same person, using many aliases. From time to time, it appears that Meta administrators will delete or block some of the pages and channels. However, not long after, the same page or channel becomes active again, or another channel crops up replicating the previous one, she explained. These disturbing postings include graphic child pornography and allegations of children being HIV positive – all while identifying children and schools. DLC, however, rushed to court late on Monday when a live WhatsApp channel with more than 11 000 followers threatened to publish pornographic material as well as the private information of children at 8pm on Monday. Sadleir said a letter of demand was sent to Meta and its officials, requiring that they delete the channels and profiles, and provide DLC with information that will assist in identifying the perpetrator. 'Receipt has been acknowledged, but no meaningful action has been taken,' she said. 'At this stage, it is impossible to identify exactly which children will be affected by the anticipated upload at 8pm, but given the tenor of the message shared by the anonymous user – the harmful effects will be widespread and irreparable,' she told the court. She also told the court that DLC has received reports that girls are being placed on suicide watch after being featured on the channels. 'If we are furnished with the information of the user behind these Instagram and WhatsApp accounts, it will enable us to take appropriate legal steps, such as obtaining a protection order or interdict against this individual,' Sadleir said. Cape Times
IOL News
a day ago
- Business
- IOL News
Gauteng High Court orders Meta to shut down child pornographic accounts on Instagram and WhatsApp
Meta was ordered by the court to shut down child pornographic accounts. Image: File While the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, on Monday evening ordered Meta to shut down several anonymous Instagram accounts and WhatsApp channels, which are distributing explicit child pornography depicting South African school children, this has not yet been done by early Tuesday afternoon. Judge Mudunwazi Makamu also ruled that Meta had to, before noon on Tuesday, furnish The Digital Law Company (DLC) with all information in its possession pertaining to the creator(s) of the WhatsApp channels and Instagram profiles listed in the urgent application. Rorke Wilson of The Digital Law Company on Tuesday said as the matter was heard on Monday evening, the deadline for Meta to shut down the accounts and channels was set to be midnight on Monday. 'However, Meta has not complied with any of the demands and all the deadlines have passed,' Wilson said, adding that they are now contemplating next steps. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading The Digital Law Company turned to court on an extremely urgent basis, which was not opposed, when it became aware of the explicit content involving children on Instagram and WhatsApp. Emma Sadleir Berkowitz, social media law expert and the founder of The Digital Law Company , said in an affidavit that DLC was made aware of some social media accounts depicting shocking material relating to children on Friday. Wilson, meanwhile, had already been dealing with complaints from victims depicted on three other platforms the day before, which related to pupils of schools in Pretoria and Centurion. Upon investigation, the shocking nature of these posts became clear, as they involve the mass distribution of unlawful material involving children to large unidentified audiences who are members of so-called WhatsApp 'community channels', as well as Instagram profiles, Sadleir said. 'The content consists of explicit pornographic images and videos depicting children. The images and videos are often accompanied by other information relating to the individual child depicted, including their name, grade, school, as well as lewd or otherwise offensive descriptions relating to the individual's purported behaviour,' she stated in her affidavit. The material is sourced from the community by sharing links to an anonymous uploading service. Sadleir said that the creator and operator of the Instagram profiles and WhatsApp channels appears to be the same person, using many aliases. From time to time, it appears that Meta administrators will delete or block some of the pages and channels. However, not long after, the same page or channel becomes active again, or another channel crops up replicating the previous one, she explained. These disturbing postings include graphic child pornography and allegations of children being HIV positive – all while identifying children and schools. DLC, however, rushed to court late on Monday when a live WhatsApp channel with more than 11,000 followers threatened to publish pornographic material as well as the private information of children at 8pm on Monday (July 14). Sadleir said a letter of demand was sent to Meta and its officials, requiring that they delete the channels and profiles, and provide DLC with information that will assist in identifying the perpetrator. 'Receipt has been acknowledged, but no meaningful action has been taken,' she said. 'At this stage, it is impossible to identify exactly which children will be affected by the anticipated upload at 20h00, but given the tenor of the message shared by the anonymous user – the harmful effects will be widespread and irreparable,' she told the court. She also told the court that DLC has received reports that girls are being placed on suicide watch after being featured on the channels. 'If we are furnished with the information of the user behind these Instagram and WhatsApp accounts, it will enable us to take appropriate legal steps, such as obtaining a protection order or interdict against this individual,' Sadleir said. As the matter was unopposed, Meta did not file any opposing papers.
