The legal trap of social media: when likes can result in fines

Have you ever thought that a careless comment on social media can result not only in likes, but also in serious legal consequences? Today, social media is not just a platform for communication. Every post, every like and comment can result in a fine or even administrative or criminal liability. The law increasingly monitors what we say online, and ignorance of the rules does not exempt from punishment.

The lawyers of Repeshko & Partners Law Firm commented on when and for what you can be fined, and what actions on the Internet should be avoided in order to avoid getting into trouble.

Various messengers, as well as the Internet, have deeply entered the lives of every citizen, not only in our country. These tools provide limitless communication, erasing borders and sometimes even conventions. It can be said that they have replaced television – it is from them that most people learn the news and discuss pressing issues. Viber, Telegram, or Voxap bring people together, making communication fast, convenient, and emotional. But when immersed in the ocean of communication, people sometimes forget that they have not only rights but also responsibilities.

A pensioner scolding the current government and nostalgic about her youth in a country of 15 republics in her Facebook posts, a neighbour insulting another neighbour in a house chat for scattering Christmas tree branches all over the entrance, a man sending a video of his penis to a girl in a personal chat on Telegram – these are fairly commonplace situations that are quite widespread. But few people think that such moments can lead to liability, and sometimes it is not even symbolic.

There are certain legal rules that govern this or that situation. However, the main thing to note is that in certain cases, certain types of communication in messengers or on the Internet may result in administrative and criminal liability.

The Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offences (CUAO) contains a number of relevant articles, namely:

Article 173. Disorderly conduct

Disorderly conduct, i.e. foul language in public places, offensive harassment of citizens and other similar actions that violate public order and peace, is punishable by a fine of three to seven tax-free minimum incomes, or community service for a period of forty to sixty hours, or correctional labour for a period of one to two months with a deduction of twenty per cent of earnings, or administrative arrest for up to fifteen days.

Article ^173-4. Bullying (harassment) of a participant in the educational process

Bullying (harassment) means actions of participants of the educational process that consist of psychological, physical, economic, sexual violence, including with the use of electronic communications, committed against a minor or underage person or by such a person against other participants of the educational process, as a result of which the victim’s mental or physical health could have been or was harmed, shall be punishable by a fine of fifty to one hundred tax-free minimum incomes or community service for a term of twenty to forty hours.

It should be noted that the act provided for in part one of this Article, committed by a group of persons or repeatedly within one year after the imposition of an administrative penalty, shall be punishable by a fine of one hundred to two hundred tax-free minimum incomes or community service for a term of forty to sixty hours. The act envisaged by part one of this Article, committed by minors or underage persons aged from fourteen to sixteen years, shall be punishable by a fine of fifty to one hundred tax-free minimum incomes or community service for a term of twenty to forty hours.

In addition, the act provided for in part two of this Article, committed by a minor or underage person aged fourteen to sixteen years, shall be punishable by a fine of one hundred to two hundred tax-free minimum incomes or community service for a period of forty to sixty hours.

The amount of the tax-free minimum income is set at UAH 17. This is the amount used to impose fines. That is, 200 tax-free minimum incomes can be imposed as an administrative penalty. This amounts to UAH 3,400.

On 22 May 2024, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a law amending the Code of Administrative Offences by adding the following articles, which will enter into force six months after the date of official publication.

Article ^173-6. Committing violence based on gender

Gender-based violence shall mean the intentional commission of any acts (actions or omissions) of a physical, psychological or economic nature directed against a particular person because of his or her sex or stereotypical perceptions of the social roles (position, duties, behaviour, etc.) of women or men in society, resulting in harm to the physical (without causing bodily harm) or mental health of the victim, shall be punishable by a fine of one hundred to two hundred tax-free minimum incomes, or community service for a term of twenty to forty hours, or correctional labour for a term of up to one month with a deduction of twenty per cent of the earnings.

Repeated commission of a violation under part one of this Article within one year for which the person has already been subjected to an administrative penalty shall be punishable by a fine of two hundred to three hundred tax-free minimum incomes, or community service for a term of forty to sixty hours, or correctional labour for a term of one to two months with a deduction of twenty per cent of the earnings, or administrative arrest for a term of up to ten days.

Article ^173-7. Sexual harassment

Sexual harassment, i.e. intentional commission of offensive, humiliating acts of a sexual nature, expressed verbally or non-verbally (words, gestures, body movements), including through the use of electronic communications, against the person’s will, shall be punishable by a fine of eighty to one hundred and sixty tax-free minimum incomes, or community service for a term of twenty to forty hours, or correctional labour for a term of up to one month with a deduction of twenty per cent of the earnings.

Repeated commission within one year of a violation under part one of this Article for which the person has already been subjected to an administrative penalty, as well as commission of such a violation in respect of a person who is in material, official or other dependence on the offender shall be punishable by a fine of one hundred and sixty to two hundred and eighty tax-free minimum incomes, or public works for a term of forty to sixty hours, or correctional labour for a term of one to two months with a deduction of twenty per cent of the earnings, or administrative arrest for a term of up to fifteen days.

It should be remembered that administrative liability is imposed on persons who have reached the age of sixteen at the time of committing an administrative offence. Persons aged sixteen to eighteen who have committed administrative offences shall be subject to the penalties provided for in Article ^24-1 of this Code. If persons aged sixteen to eighteen years commit administrative offences under Articles 173, ^173-4, of this Code, they shall be subject to administrative liability on the general grounds. Taking into account the nature of the committed offence and the personality of the offender, the above-mentioned may be subject to the measures of influence provided for in Article ^24-1 of this Code.

At the same time, Article 241^provides that the following measures may be applied to minors aged sixteen to eighteen for committing administrative offences

1) an obligation to apologise to the victim in public or in another form

2) a warning;

3) reprimand or strict reprimand;

4) placing a minor under the supervision of parents or persons in loco parentis, or under the supervision of a teaching or labour collective with their consent, as well as to individuals at their request.

With regard to criminal liability, the Criminal Code of Ukraine (CCU) contains numerous articles that may give rise to liability for actions in messengers or on the Internet. Here are just some of them:

• 120 – Driving to suicide;
• 109 – Actions aimed at the violent change or overthrow of the constitutional order or the seizure of state power
• 110 – Encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine
• 111 – High treason;
• ¹¹⁴¹ – Obstruction of the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations
• 161 – Violation of equality of citizens based on their race, nationality, religious beliefs, disability and other grounds;
• ²⁵⁸² – Public calls to commit a terrorist act;
• 295 – Calls for actions that threaten public order;
• 436 – Propaganda of war;
• ⁴³⁶¹ – Production, distribution of communist, Nazi symbols and propaganda of communist and national socialist (Nazi) totalitarian regimes;
• ¹¹¹¹ – Collaboration activities
• 114 ^{2 –} Unauthorised dissemination of information on the sending, movement of weapons, armaments and ammunition to Ukraine, movement, movement or deployment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or other military formations formed in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, committed under martial law or a state of emergency
• ⁴³⁶² – Justification, recognition as lawful, denial of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, glorification of its participants
• ⁴³⁵¹ – Insulting the honour and dignity of a serviceman, threatening a serviceman.

As a reminder, criminal liability is imposed on persons who were at least sixteen years old when the criminal offence was committed.

There are already the following precedents in court practice that we would like to remind you of:

• a citizen of Ukraine was convicted who warned his friend about the TCC in personal correspondence,
• from 24.02.2022 to the end of October 2024, 57 Ukrainians were convicted for reporting on Viber and Telegram about the locations of TCCs;
• three people went to court for posting videos on TikTok and Youtube about the locations of TCCs;
• a woman was convicted for writing an insulting message to her husband on Viber that contained obscene language.
• According to the man, this message was seen not only by him, but also by other people who were nearby, which significantly affected his dignity;
• a local resident of Ivano-Frankivsk region was convicted of justifying Russia’s armed aggression. In 2023, SBU cyber specialists exposed him for spreading pro-Russian propaganda on social media. Law enforcement officers noted that the man was actively distributing tiktok propaganda materials on Facebook, using the hashtags #ZOV, #Russia, #Zaputina, and distributed content related to the Wagner PMC.
• During the investigation, correspondence with pro-Russian messages was found on his mobile device, including:
• ‘Greetings from Donbas, brother’, ‘Good luck, brothers. Glory to Russia’.
• In Kyiv, a security guard of the Sofiyivskyi Kvartal residential complex was sentenced to five years for posting at least five messages in the telegram chat of the building, which is home to more than 800 people, warning residents of his building about the arrival of TCC and JV employees. The actions were classified as obstructing the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
• A resident of Cherkasy was convicted for discussing a post on Facebook about the need to provide assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, she spoke negatively about such assistance and repeatedly posted obscene comments about the Armed Forces. During a personal communication with the manager, the woman wrote offensive, abusive and humiliating words to the Ukrainian military.

As you can see, breaking the law is much easier than it seems. Sometimes, when posting a message, a person does not even think that they are committing an administrative or criminal offence. Therefore, as the saying goes, ‘Measure twice, cut once’, so in communication, too, you should think seven times before writing something, because what is ‘written with a pen cannot be pulled out with an ox’.