Whatsapp it is the most used messaging application in the world and one of the apps, overall, with the highest number of downloads. Among Italians alone, there are 33 million users who exchange an exorbitant amount of information every day. text message and various types of content, images, videos, audio and so on, even if a good portion of the chats is made up of written words. This is due to the extreme simplicity of use, the zero cost (or at least reduced to the internet connection) and the speed.
This, however, should not lead to underestimating them consequences of your statements, especially when you address someone or talk about a person with offensive tones, aggressive or even threatening. In fact, on Whatsapp it is also easy to commit a crime or at least an offense, which can cost very dearly, literally. But which words should you pay attention to? Here’s what the law provides.
Words that can cost you dearly on Whatsapp
Simply put, the words and phrases that can cause serious consequences for Whatsapp users include:
- defamation;
- insult;
- threats.
These offenses can in fact be committed with a short sentence or even a single word, unlike crimes such as stalking which presupposes a certain frequency or repetitiveness of harassing actions. In particular, the defamation it is a crime that punishes those who harm it moral, personal or professional reputation others in absence of the victim and in the presence (even virtual) of at least two other people.
This crime is punished by article 595 of the Penal Code with imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 1,032 euros, penalties that increase if the crime is aggravated by publication in the press. Occasionally, the Court of Cassation has recognized this aggravating circumstance regarding defamation on Whatsapp groups, but the most recent orientation seems to exclude this hypothesis, as it is not a matter of content readable by an indeterminate audience.
We then have theinsultwhich has long been decriminalized and is now a civil offense punishable by law fine from 100 to 8,000 euroswhich rises to a fine from 200 to 12,000 euros if the offense consists in the attribution of a specific fact or the offense is committed in the presence of other people. The main difference compared to the crime of defamation, in fact, consists in the presence of the offended person who can respond to the accusations.
Finally, the threats to cause unfair damage to someone are punished with a fine 1,032 euros, as provided for in article 619 of the Criminal Code, except for aggravating circumstances. However, it is good to highlight that in all these cases the offended person has the right to request a compensation for the damage suffered which, depending on the particular circumstances, can reach very high figures, certainly higher than the financial penalties just seen.
Is there a defamation vocabulary?
Although many seek it, there is no real vocabulary of defamation, in the sense that there are no words that automatically involve a crime or, on the contrary, exclude it. The words are neutral, legally speaking, therefore what counts above all is theintention of those who use them, the context and theopinion – average – of the community. Furthermore, it is essential that the victim is identifiable easily (or present in the event of injury).
For this reason, potentially any term can give rise to the crime, while more colorful words do not necessarily include it. Indeed, several times the Supreme Court has excluded defamation with respect to the use of bad language because it was missingintent to denigrate or belittle the victim. It’s not just the context and the that matter form used according to the same, but also the sense that whoever writes them intends to give to words. For this reason, a ruling from the Supreme Court of Cassation held that the name “cog****e” given with the meaning of “naive” is not a crime, while saying that someone is a “cuckold” implies that the spouse cheats on him more probably completes the crime.
Furthermore, the possible does not count truthfulness of the fact, but rather the damage to the victim’s reputation and the contemptuous subjective evaluation on his person, moral or professional. The criteria are essentially similar as regards injury, taking into account the elements that distinguish this tort.
Implied threats
Not just defamation, a wrong word on Whatsapp can also constitute the crime of threats. It is important to underline that the problem does not only concern threats more explicitly aggressive, but also more veiled ones, with a sarcastic use of common terms. “I wish you a happy holiday” or “see you soon” are completely ordinary phrases, but if they are used with the intention of intimidate the interlocutor by suggesting harm then they integrate the crime.
