Persons allegedly living with HIV named on social media

A social media page has sparked concern after posting the faces and names of Jamaicans who are allegedly HIV-positive.

The site also claims that the information was obtained from local hospitals. The Health Ministry has slammed the claims, while an attorney-at-law says the controversy highlights the need for stronger legislation to address social media mischief and the malicious spread of potentially damaging information.

“It is another instance where we really need to examine how we deal with legislation because we don’t really have much legislation that deals with what is happening now with the advance in technology. There should be rules in terms of legislation regarding the use of social media,” King’s Counsel Peter Champagnie told THE STAR.

The page, which has posted more than 10 pictures, went live on Tuesday. During the live stream, the creator, who claimed to work in the healthcare sector and whose face is not seen, began listing the names of persons he alleged were HIV-positive. THE STAR observed users in the live stream requesting the names of persons from particular parishes.

Senior Medical Officer of the National HIV/STI Programme, Nicola Skyers, has slammed the allegations.

“There is patient confidentiality, patient records are confidential, so there is no hospital that would do such a thing, I don’t see where they would think it is appropriate to make such a statement. It is not ethical, it is not legal and certainly not with the Data Protection Act,” she said.

“We will engage and see but this is a legal matter. But what the ministry can say is that we don’t divulge confidential information of patients,” she added.

During the livestream, a woman joined and pleaded with the creator to remove her image, commenting, “You are a liar and take down my video from off your page.”

The creator told her to get tested and prove that the information was false in order for the image to be removed. The almost hour-long livestream ended with the creator directing expletives at someone who joined the stream and highlighted the possible damage associated with his actions.

Champagnie outlined several possible legal implications arising from the publication of the names and images.

“It is possibly a breach of the Cybercrimes Act in the form of malicious communication, if it is to be interpreted that the publication is intended to cause harm to these persons. Because if for example John Brown is HIV positive, it may cause persons associated with John Brown intimately to believe it to be true, and want to do harm to John Brown, and so with this, the host of this publication could face jail time,” he said.

He said the person responsible could also face civil action.

“It could also expose the person responsible for the platform to a defamation suit, and thirdly, in the realm of civil law as well, the person may have to contend with allegation of breaches of privacy and discrimination,” he said.

However, he explained that one of the challenges in such cases is identifying the person behind the page, particularly when the creator remains anonymous.

“So, you don’t know who the individual is, and sometimes even when the person is known, you don’t know where the person is located because the person can be doing things in New York and you can’t find the person to serve them,” he said.

For other users who cited persons in the comment section who they allege are also HIV- positive, Champagnie noted that the same penalty could potentially apply.

“They are contributing to it, they are part and parcel of it. The law does not make a distinction from an instigator, the original presenter of a platform and someone who contributes and adds to it.