Leaving a one-star review. Forwarding a screenshot. Sharing a WhatsApp message. Under the UAE cybercrime laws, these everyday online habits can carry legal consequences that surprise even longtime residents.
The country’s cybercrime legislation stretches far beyond hacking and online fraud, covering everything from privacy violations and digital defamation to misinformation and the redistribution of private content. Depending on the offence, penalties can include substantial fines, confiscation of devices and, in some cases, prison sentences.
A recent case involving a UAE influencer offered a reminder that there can be a legal difference between consumer criticism and a reputational attack.
According to local reports, citing the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, the influencer posted a video criticising a well-known restaurant and questioning the owner’s integrity and business practices. Authorities concluded that the content had moved beyond a review of the dining experience and into personal defamation, targeting the owner rather than the service itself.
The court imposed a AED 30,000 fine, ordered the video removed, confiscated the phone used to film and publish it and awarded the restaurant owner AED 51,000 in civil compensation, bringing the total cost of the upload to AED 81,000 – that’s around $22,000.
The internet may feel borderless, but the laws governing it rarely are. In the UAE, actions that feel like ordinary internet behaviour elsewhere – posting a review, forwarding a screenshot or sharing a message – can carry very different legal implications. Here are six everyday online habits worth knowing about before you hit send.
1. Leaving a One-Star Review
A one-star review is one of the internet’s oldest forms of revenge. In the UAE, however, there is a legal distinction between criticising an experience and attacking a person’s reputation.
“While consumers are entitled to express genuine opinions, comments that are considered insulting, defamatory or damaging to a business’s reputation may expose the author to criminal proceedings, particularly where the allegations cannot be substantiated or the language used exceeds legitimate criticism. The same considerations apply to posts on social media, Google reviews and comments shared through messaging platforms,” says Ratmir Proscurnov, Partner, Head of International Legal Practice at Uppercase Legal Advisory.
Salam Pappinissery, CEO of YAB Legal Services, points to a case involving a client who suffered an allergic reaction to a prescribed ointment and later posted a warning about the clinic on Google. According to Pappinissery, that review subsequently prompted a notice from Dubai Public Prosecution.
Under Article 43 of the UAE Cybercrime Laws, online defamation can carry fines ranging from AED 250,000 to AED 500,000. The distinction, lawyers say, is often between factual descriptions of an experience and allegations that could be interpreted as attacks on a person’s character, integrity or reputation.
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