One month to three years in prison. Not to mention, deportation plus fines from Dh100,000 to Dh3 million.
These are the penalties awaiting anyone caught violating making abusive, slanderous comments or even spreading fake news on social media in the UAE.
Abu Dhabi lead prosecutor Amer Al Amira told a group of journalists and judges that they have recorded 512 criminal cases involving social media abuse this past first 10 months of 2019.
This represents almost 70 percent increased from 2018 which had 357 violations for the entire 12 months.
Aside from posting abusive and slanderous comments online, social media crimes include posting fake advertisements and spreading rumors.
“People must be careful about maintaining the expected conduct under the UAE law on social media, as it can have serious consequences on both the offender and those on the receiving end,” he said as quoted by The National.
