UAE law treats defamation as a serious crime as it harms a person’s reputation.
With the rapid growth of the information technology in every field including the communication platforms, there is an increase in the number of defamation cases.
In particular, The reason for this is the wide use of social networking sites and online portals among the common people. In order to attract the provisions of Article (20), the offender should have insulted or accused another person of a matter of which he shall be subject to punishment or being held in contempt by others, by using a computer network or an information technology means.
Generally, there are two kinds of defamation, i.e. libel and slander. In particular, Defamation in some permanent forms such as written or printed is called as libel. Likewise, slander is defamation in transient forms like spoken words or gestures.
Article 20, Federal Decree Law No. 5 Issued on 13 August 2012 Corresponding to 25 Ramadan 1433 H. ON COMBATING CYBERCRIMES
Under Article 20, any person who insults others or has attributed to another an incident that may make him subject to punishment or contempt by others by using an electronic site shall be punished by imprisonment or a fine of not less than AED 250,000 and not exceeding AED 500,000. Specifically, Insult or slander against public employees is considered an aggravating circumstance of the crime.
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