Petra
The judicial body specialized in cybercrime cases at the Amman Criminal Magistrate Court, headed by Judge Dr. Uday Al-Fraihat, issued its ruling in the first case of spreading false news through the digital space, in which two people are accused .
The importance of this first case came after the Cybercrime Law was recently amended, which increased the penalty for publishing false news, as the court defined for the first time the meaning of false news, its limits, and its requirements in a precise way that leaves no room for doubt about its interference with media freedoms and freedom of opinion and expression .
The court proved that the two convicts committed the crime charged to them, and decided to fine them a sum of 10,000 dinars, 5,000 for each of them, and it will be subject to appeal before the competent court .
The Public Prosecution charged the defendants, who are 49 years old and 20 years old, and who work as a driver, with the crime of publishing false news or information targeting community security and peace via the information network, in violation of the provisions of Article 15/A of the Cybercrime Law No. (17) of 2023 .
The incrimination decision said that at the end of last September, during the electronic patrol, electronic messages and an audio recording were seen that a person had posted on the WhatsApp application regarding earthquakes and earthquakes, and as a result, an inspection was organized by the Anti-Cybercrime Unit to reveal that the two convicts had published via the information network and by phone. Cellular .
Article 15/A of the Cybercrime Law No. (17) of 2023 stipulates: “Anyone who intentionally sends, re-sends, or publishes data or information via the computer network, information technology, information system, website, or social media platforms shall be punished.” False news targeting national security and community peace, or slandering, slandering, or humiliating any person, by imprisonment for a period of no less than three months or a fine of no less than 5 thousand dinars and not more than 20 thousand dinars, or both of these penalties. The court said in its decision that by applying the law
to Established facts: With regard to the crime of spreading false news or information targeting societal security and peace via the information network, its physical element must be present, which is an activity carried out by the perpetrator, which includes sending, re-sending, or publishing data or information via the information network that includes news. It is incorrect and targets national security, societal peace, and the moral element, as this crime is an intentional crime, and the criminal intent is based on two elements: the element of knowledge and the element of will. The court pointed out that, by applying
the material and moral elements, the court found that the crime of publishing false news or information targets security and peace. Social crime via the information network is one of the crimes stipulated by the Jordanian legislator in the Cybercrime Law No. (17) of 2023, in implementation of the principle of legality, which requires that there is no punishment or crime except by a text .
The legislator aims to adapt every act or omission that constitutes a crime, and determine the appropriate punishment for it on the basis of an objective assessment of the seriousness of the harmful effect left by the crime, and the integrity of the moral data surrounding its occurrence on the part of the perpetrator. This is the essence of the criminalization included in the text, which begins by adapting the crime and depicting it through… Its material and moral pillars .
The court indicated that, by extrapolating Article (15), it becomes clear to the court that the criminalization of false news is based on certain reasons in which the legislator refers to two basic elements, which are the negative impact on national security and societal peace, and exceeding the limits of exercising the right established under the provisions of the law, and that these two elements do not affect the law. Freedom of opinion and expression is enshrined in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and in Article 15 of the Jordanian Constitution .
The court found that the concept of societal peace is the state of peace and harmony within society, while the concept of national security is the use of means to maintain the proper functioning of the life of society with all its components, away from crises and rumors that affect the security of society. Both concepts are considered concepts that are subject to the discretion of the judge of the matter and are related to This estimate depends on the content, time and place of the statements that were published .
In the same context, the court found that the term “fake news” has multiple meanings, and UNESCO defined it as “carefully planned, deliberate attempts to confuse or manipulate people by providing false information about them, for the purpose of harming their reputation and interests.” Criminal jurisprudence has also set definitions for the crime of broadcasting news . False rumors are defined by most jurisprudence as “a narration about a matter, event, or person in a manner that is narrated or broadcast. It is a type of unconfirmed news, and its narrator or broadcaster wants to draw attention to its confirmation and people’s knowledge of it. The court said in its decisions that comparative judiciary, including the Egyptian judiciary
, The concept of false news was clarified, as the Egyptian Court of Cassation ruled in its decision: “For the application of Article 188 of the Egyptian Penal Code regarding publishing false news and rumors with bad intent, the news must be false, and its publisher must be aware of this lie and intentionally publish what is false. ”
She explained that the term “fake news” is one of the commonly accepted terms in Jordanian legislation, in Article 132 of the Penal Code, which stipulates that “every Jordanian who is aware of the matter broadcasts false or exaggerated news abroad that would undermine the prestige of the state or Article 106 of the Securities Law stipulates that it is prohibited for any person to do any of the following: broadcast or promote rumours, or give misleading or incorrect information, data or statements, and Article 38 of the Press and Publications Law stipulates that it is prohibited to publish any of the following :
It includes defamation, slander, or contempt of individuals, or affects their personal freedoms, or contains false information or rumors against them .
The court concluded that the concept of fake news via the information network is news or a group of false and incorrect news that spreads via the information network and has no source. It is reliable, and is being circulated among people with the aim of influencing societal security and peace, and may be of a military, political, economic or social nature .
The court decided, in accordance with the provisions of Article 177 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, to convict the two defendants of the crime of publishing false news or information targeting societal security and peace about Through the information network, in violation of the provisions of Article 15/A of the Cybercrime Law No. (17) of 2023, and they were sentenced, in accordance with the provisions of the same article, to a fine of 5 thousand dinars for each of them and fees .
The criminalization decision stated that the decision was issued against the convicts in the presence of, and as a pre-trial, and will be subject to appeal before the competent court .