Think before you comment in UAE: Posting negative comments online can cost you AED 500,000 | World News

UAE has intensified its enforcement of legal guidelines in opposition to negative, abusive, and defamatory comments on social media/Representative Image

The United Arab Emirates has just lately intensified its enforcement of legal guidelines in opposition to negative, abusive, and defamatory comments on social media platforms, signaling a strict authorized setting for online speech. Authorities throughout the UAE, together with police in Sharjah and Dubai, have issued stern warnings that not solely posts however even comments or replies, whether or not written, audio, video, or reside can result in legal fees, imprisonment, and hefty fines underneath the nation’s cybercrime and defamation legal guidelines.Under Federal Decree Law No. 34 of 2021, amended in 2024, online insults, defamation, and spreading of false or deceptive data are legal offenses. These legal guidelines defend people, companies, and public officers from reputational hurt brought on by defamatory digital content material. Authorities emphasize that customers usually underestimate that even quick comment replies or reside session remarks are recorded, traceable, and prosecutable.TL;DR:

Key authorized provisions and penalties:

Enforcement tendencies

In current years, the UAE has witnessed a rising variety of enforcement actions in opposition to people who publish negative opinions, comments, or defamatory content material on social media. Several high-profile instances illustrate the seriousness of those legal guidelines in apply. In one occasion, a lady was fined after posting a viral Instagram video criticizing a hospital. In one other, a person was ordered to pay AED 70,000 in damages for defamatory remarks that harmed a enterprise’s repute. Legal specialists warn that even emotional outbursts or venting private grievances online can have authorized repercussions, because the nation’s cybercrime and defamation legal guidelines cowl a variety of digital expressions.

Government and authority messages:

Authorities have constantly urged residents and guests to train warning in their online behaviour by avoiding private assaults, abusive language, or insulting remarks, and to as a substitute use official reporting channels when elevating complaints. Senior legislation enforcement officers emphasize that every one types of digital communication, from written posts to comments, replies, reside streams, and even non-public messages are monitored and recorded. Users are reminded to uphold values of respect, tolerance, and coexistence in line with the UAE’s cultural and social norms. The UAE’s National Media Office has additional confused that each social media person acts as an envoy for the nation’s repute, carrying a duty to interact respectfully online. Under current media laws, breaches can outcome in extreme administrative measures, together with fines of as much as AED 1 million or, in the case of media shops, the closure of the institution for violations.The UAE’s up to date and strictly enforced cybercrime and defamation legal guidelines create a strong setting the place online negative comments or defamatory remarks are handled as critical offenses. The authorized framework goals to stability freedom of expression with safety in opposition to digital hurt, making certain peaceable and respectful online interactions in line with the nation’s cultural and social values. Internet customers and content material creators are urged to acknowledge that each comment and publish leaves a digital footprint that can have vital authorized penalties, together with giant fines and imprisonment.