WhatsApp is the world’s leading messaging app today. And although it can be a very useful tool in everyday life, It’s a double edged sword. Many personal conflicts revolve around WhatsApp conversations and that’s why wanting to peek into another person’s chats can be tempting for some.
And way beyond To hack WhatsApp is not something technically simple, nor something that should be desired given the legal consequences that may result just trying. At Xataka Android we contacted a lawyer who explained everything to us about these practices.
Besides being unethical, it is also illegal
Our particular position against WhatsApp spying is clear and that is that we cannot defend it in any way when it comes to a conflict between individuals. It doesn’t matter what’s in the background: couple break-ups, problems between friends, family conflicts… Above all, we believe in the privacy of each user with their WhatsApp account.
One server can attest to having received dozens of messages over the years asking for “help hacking X person’s WhatsApp”. All this with endless excuses, each more ridiculous. For them, and for all those who are simply curious on the subject, to say that The law protects victims of spying on WhatsApp.
Cynthia Nantón Portela, Procedural Lawyer of the Illustrious Bar Association of Madrid, was kind enough to help us learn in detail the results What can WhatsApp spy bring?
First of all, we know that Spying on WhatsApp is just as criminal as any other type of spying. “Spying on any means of communication, be it WhatsApp, Facebook conversations, Instagram, text messages, emails and even written correspondence, can be included in the crime of discovering and revealing secrets”, explains Nantón Portela, who also cites Article 197.1. of the Penal Code in which it is characterized:
“Anyone who, in order to discover the secrets or violate the privacy of others, without their consent, seizes their papers, letters, electronic messages or any other documents or personal effects, intercepts their telecommunications or uses technical devices listening, transmission, recording or reproduction of sound or image, or any other communication signal, will be punished by prison terms of one to four years and a fine of twelve to twenty-four months.”
And while it is true that the aforementioned article does not literally specify the use of WhatsApp, the lawyer explains that there have already been convictions for these facts. Specifically, it exposes the case of a woman in Jaén who was sentenced to one year in prison and a twelve month fine after a Sentence of the Penal Court nº3 of Jaén. This court found it criminal that this woman took her husband’s mobile phone in order to enter WhatsApp and find out whether or not he was having an extramarital affair.
In case Let’s be victims of WhatsApp spy, Nantón Portela tells us that it is perfectly denounced assuming that it is “a violation of our privacy and a possible revelation of secrets”. We also asked what kind of evidence we had to show in court if the complaint was successful. The lawyer told us the following:
“The evidence can be diverse and must be attentive to the evolution of factscan range from testimonies, from people who had knowledge of the circumstances in which the criminal act was committed, from documentaries, from contributions of collected conversations which were the subject of the events, to the opinions of experts, technical specialists who inspect the terminal for example if spying was done via applications.”
Returning to the first section of article 197 of the Penal Code and as we have already seen in the Jaén judgment, Penalties range from one to four years in prison.. In any case, the lawyer affirms that “these penalties are not watertight, since they can vary with the application of aggravating and mitigating circumstances”. See as an example of an aggravating circumstance the relationship between victim and executioner.
Regardless of the method used and the reasons given. It’s illegal
We wanted to go further in our questions to lawyer Cynthia Nantón Portela, asking her, for example, If for legal purposes it is the same to spy on WhatsApp with computer tools as to physically take the victim’s mobile. Also according to the Criminal Code, he confirmed that yes, since “the methods used to commit the crime would not be relevant in determining the sentence”.
In addition, counsel wanted to focus primarily on the Importance of exposing the victim’s WhatsApp as an aggravating circumstance. It specifies that “there will be aggravation of the penalties when the disclosure relates to personal data revealing data on ideology, religion, beliefs, health, racial origin, sex life or minor victims , disabled or requiring special protection, when they are made in pursuit of a profit or when they are disseminated”.
We were also able to verify that, even by closing the loop, spying is not justified even when security reasons are alleged. Giving an example that one person suspects another is committing criminal acts via WhatsApp and tries to spy on them to verify it, the lawyer is candid in stating the following:
“In this case, it would not apply as a cause of exemption, an individual is not authorized to perform these acts, however justified he thinks, for this should approach state security forces and organs and denounce […] knowledge of this crime. For the use of espionage to be justified, it would have to be exercised through what are called investigative procedures, which are used in criminal proceedings that are in the first phase of investigation. , known as the investigation phase.
In order to make use of these procedures, the same must be carried out by authorized personnel for this, as is the case of the police or the Civil Guard, and must be approved by judicial authorization in a reasoned way, because as we mentioned before, we would be facing an interference in a fundamental right such than the right to privacy.
So, if at any time you have had the slightest curiosity to know about another person’s WhatsApp content, knowing that it is the least responsible for you to think twice. The digital age makes us believe that we are immune to certain practicesbut here we were able to verify that WhatsApp is not one of them.
