With the development of life and its progress in various fields and in light of the openness that has occurred to most societies and the emergence of new cultures and human needs affected by the methods of communication between members of the same society and perhaps the most important of these reasons are the means of modern technology and social media, which have become a fertile environment and traps for everyone who misuses them and makes them under the penalty of legal accountability
Our talk today about Decree-Law No. 5 of 2012 on combating information technology crimes and because it is not a talk about all the crimes in this law, so we have chosen for you some articles and legal cases that are considered the most frequent and popular in the arenas of social media
All of us have recently noticed a lot of behaviors that may appear from the owners of some accounts on social media platforms from posts that sometimes contradict our values and principles in the UAE society or call for behaviors that contradict the customs, traditions and prevailing custom, these posts may irritate many followers of these pages and may even cause uncalculated reactions by directing insults, slander and insult phrases that will make their owner the subject of punishment under the penalty of accountability Legal
This is regulated by Article 20 of the Law on Combating Information Technology Crimes, which stipulates that anyone who insults others or assigns him an incident that would make him the object of punishment or contempt by others using an information network or means of information technology shall be punished by imprisonment and a fine of not less than 250,000 and not exceeding 500,000 or either of these two penalties.
While also preserving the right of the complainant to claim material and moral compensation, so my advice to everyone who follows us, interfering with the privacy of others and attacking them publicly with anger or saying is what the owners of those accounts wish for different goals, mainly material gain from filing claims for compensation, so it is necessary to stay away and refrain from such behaviors in order to achieve his saying “and if they pass through the language they pass through dignity”
On another level, I remember an incident that happened a few years ago, someone who wanted to initiate a lawsuit against one of his friends contacted me, and I asked him what happened between you specifically, he reported that one day I was talking to my friend about another friend of ours through one of the phone applications, and I mentioned in one of the recordings some disadvantages or innocuous things about this person, several days later my friend sent and published this recording to one of the groups. Where the grieving person is present, if I can say so, and the dispute started from here until it grew and we entered into a rupture for several months, and he asked me how can I legally take my right from this person who destroyed my relationship with a large number of friends and distorted my reputation in front of them
I replied that according to Article XX of the Law on Combating Information Technology Crimes, no one may attack the privacy of another person, stealing his hearing or disclosing conversation, audio material or communications made between them with the intention of defaming or offending another person, the law in this regard is on your side and protects your rights.
Such an incident hurts you when you go into its details and know its causes, so anyone should take great care to avoid falling into such illegal behaviors, which may end the relationship of owners among themselves by using the wrong information technology or communication platforms.
The corridors of the courts are also witnessing some of the cases of trafficking or promotion of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances, and this scourge has many methods such as the establishment of a website to display drugs in preparation for their sale and illicit gain or the dissemination of information on the information network on the methods of using these drugs or guidance to their site and so on, all these abnormal paths that would secure and interest the state using the information network, criminalized under article 36 of the Law on Combating Information Technology Crimes, temporary imprisonment and a fine that Not less than 500,000 dirhams and not exceeding one million dirhams or one of these two penalties.
Finally, there is no doubt that the cases of extortion or threatening one person to another to do a certain act using an information network or an information technology means, are criminalized under this law, and perhaps in this regard a few days ago one of the sisters contacted me complaining about someone who pursues her from one place to another, and threatens to publish her photos and slander her if she does not accept to marry him, all these acts take pictures of extortion, which may be punishable by imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10. Years in case the threat of committing a felony or assigning things that are contrary to honor or consideration.