The Kerala High Court on February 23 said admins of WhatsApp groups are not liable for objectionable posts made by group members.
• The court examined whether the admin, the petitioner in the case, has vicarious liability or can be held liable for the act of the social media group member.
• Vicarious liability is a situation in which one party is held partly responsible for the unlawful actions of a third party.
• The third party also carries their own share of the liability. Vicarious liability can arise in situations where one party is supposed to be responsible for (and have control over) a third party and is negligent in carrying out that responsibility and exercising that control.
• Such a liability arises usually because of some or the other legal relationship between the two.
• This often occurs in the context of civil law—for example, in employment cases.
• In a criminal context, vicarious liability assigns guilt, or criminal liability, to a person for wrongful acts committed by someone else.