Up to 5 years in prison and a fine of two million dirhams
Deterrent penalties under the “Cybercrime Law” for creating fake mail and accounts
The new Law on Combating Information Technology Crimes, issued by Federal Decree Law No. 34 of 2021 regarding combating rumors and cybercrime, dealt in detail with the crime of fabricating mail, websites and false electronic accounts, in contrast to the previous Law No. 5 of 2012, which did not address it in this detail.
The new law stipulated penalties that would deter the perpetrators of these crimes, in some cases amounting to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years, and a fine of up to two million dirhams.
Article (11) of the law to be implemented starting from January 2, 2022 stipulates that a penalty of imprisonment and a fine of no less than 50 thousand dirhams and not more than 200,000 dirhams, or one of these two penalties, shall be imposed on anyone who fabricates a website, account or mail. electronically, and falsely attributing it to a natural or legal person.
And the penalty shall be imprisonment for a period of no less than two years, if the offender uses or enables others to use the fake account, mail, or website in a matter that offends the person who has fabricated it.
The penalty shall be imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years, and a fine of no less than 200,000 dirhams, and not more than two million dirhams, if the crime occurred by fabricating a website, account or email for a state institution.
Article (14) of the new law stipulates that whoever forges an electronic document of the federal or local government or federal or local public authorities or institutions shall be punished with temporary imprisonment and a fine of no less than 150,000 dirhams and not more than 750,000 dirhams. .
The penalty shall be imprisonment and a fine of no less than 100,000 dirhams and not more than 300,000 dirhams, or one of these two penalties, if the forgery occurred in documents of an authority other than those stipulated in the previous clause of the same article.
Anyone who uses a forged electronic document with knowledge of its forgery shall be punished with the penalty prescribed for the crime of forgery, according to its circumstances.
Article (16) of the Anti-Rumor and Cybercrime Law stipulates that whoever manages, establishes or uses a site or An account on a computer network that aims to commit or facilitate the commission of a crime punishable by law.
Article (18) stipulates that any person responsible for managing a website or an account on a computer network, e-mail or information system, who hid or Tampering with digital evidence of one of the crimes stipulated in this decree, with the intent of impeding the work of research and investigation bodies, investigations or other competent authorities.
• Temporary imprisonment and a fine of no more than 750,000 dirhams for anyone who forged a government electronic document.
Media content abuses
The new law included abuses related to media content. Article (19), under the title of publishing data or information that does not comply with media content standards, stipulates that a penalty of imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year, and a fine of no less than 30 thousand dirhams, and not more than 300 One thousand dirhams, or one of these two penalties, each responsible for managing a website or an electronic account, on any of which, content or data that does not comply with the standards of media content issued by the concerned authorities.
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