Spanish Courts Rule That Parents Can Read Their Kids’ WhatsApp Chats

As a kid, we’re sure many of you guys would have been indignant and upset if your parents were to read your diary, especially if it was meant to be private. However would you go as far as suing them for it? Over in Spain, that’s what a man’s ex-wife did when she claims that he accessed their children’s WhatsApp messages, thus breaching their privacy.

Speaking to Spanish daily El Español (via International Business Times), the woman was quoted as saying, “Both my kids told me that their father took them to their bedrooms and went over my daughter’s conversations with them.” When the case went to trial, the lower court in the region agreed with the mother, which meant that the father was guilty of breaching their children’s right to privacy, which carries a sentence of up to 4 years in prison along with a fine.

However a judge in the higher Pontevedra court felt differently, and claimed that parents had a greater right to “watch over” their children, while acknowledging that there is a clash between privacy and the duty of a guardian. The court adds, “The development of social networks, as well as WhatsApp, requires attention and vigilance of the parents to preserve the indemnity of minors.”

Ultimately it seems that the father was clear of the charges while the mother was ordered by the court to pay all the legal costs involved with the case.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: Apps, Legal, Privacy, Whatsapp