Attacking the personal lives of individuals and abusing them using social media and information technology constitutes a crime condemned by law and so is publishing private information over the Internet.
Publishing offensive information about individuals constitutes a crime of defamation because it is public, seen by many people and serves the purpose of offending.
With the development of information technology and the emergence of social networking sites of all kinds, such crimes have increased and have become widespread in the courts, either due to misuse, or because some people deliberately infringe on the sanctity of an individual’s private life.
This is done by defaming them on social media sites without putting an end to the sanctity of individuals’ private lives.
Since the emergence of information technology means, the Omani legislator was the first to issue the law on combating information technology crimes with Royal Decree No. 12/2011. This was addressed in Article 16 of the law on combating information technology crimes, which states: “The penalty shall be imprisonment for a period not exceeding less than one year and not more than three years, and a fine of not less than RO 1000 and not more than RO 5000 or one of the two penalties. The punishment is applicable to anyone who uses the information network or information technology means, such as mobile phones equipped with cameras, to attack the sanctity of the private or family life of individuals by taking pictures or publishing news or audio or video recordings related to it, even if they are true, or by assaulting others by insulting or defaming them.”
In recent years, cases of insult and defamation have increased over the Internet and social media platforms and applications. Although most people are familiar with the general concept of the crimes of insult, slander and defamation, however, many times, people assume that it only applies to newspapers or other media.
The person who has been defamed only needs to file a complaint with the public prosecution proving that the defendant made a false statement about him, published this statement, and that the publication caused damage to his reputation.
Although it may seem difficult for a plaintiff to prove that a false statement caused harm, in many cases the law presumes that there is harm to an individual's reputation simply because something was published about them without their consent.
Reporting cybercrimes in Oman has now become easy and quick after the government created a unified number to receive these reports, deal with them, and arrest the perpetrator. Technological development has led to a multiplicity of cybercrimes and many people have been exposed to many different crimes.
One can report the occurrence of a cybercrime in the Sultanate of Oman by calling 992, which is the unified number for the entire country, or reporting through the Aman application.
THE CRIMES
- Electronic blackmail: This is a crime in which the criminal threatens the victim by publishing any pictures, information, or content on communication platforms or a website if he or she does not agree to carry out his requests and desires.
- Fraud: It is a crime in which a person is exposed to a scam and the seizure of his or her money from any person who submits a specific offer to him over the Internet, which may be a specific project or a specific deal.
- Internet defamation: It is one of the most common electronic crimes where one person exposes another by publishing any matter to distort his or her reputation.
- Insulting and slander: It is also one of the crimes that is widely spread among individuals, as each of the quarrels insults each other through communication platforms and distorts the reputation and image of each other.
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