Controversy over a campaign of arrests of famous social networking sites in Iraq

Baghdad

- The arrest of a number of social media celebrities in Iraq sparked widespread controversy, after the Ministry of Interior launched a campaign of arrests in the capital and a number of provinces against those who publish content that the ministry described as (bad), inappropriate and inconsistent with public morals.

Saad Maan: The campaign of arrests according to Penal Code No. 111 of 1969 (Al-Jazeera Net)

government rationale

In the meantime, and on the reasons for the arrest, Saad Maan, Director of Relations and Information at the Ministry of Interior, says, "The arrests of those with bad content came as a result of complaints received by the ministry from citizens and activists through the electronic (report) platform that the ministry recently developed to report content that offends modesty."

In a statement to Al-Jazeera Net, Maan indicated that the detainees will be referred to the judiciary and in the presence of a committee of experts to consider their cases, pointing out that his ministry noticed a clear decline in the spread of "low" content after the arrests, while he confirmed that the arrest process took place in accordance with Article 403. of the Penal Code.

In the context, Article 403 of Penal Code No. 111 of 1969 says, “Anyone who manufactures, imports, issues, possesses, acquires, or transfers with the intention of exploitation or distribution a book or Other publications or writings, drawings, pictures, films, symbols, or other things if they are offensive to modesty or public morals.

Nada Al-Abedi believes that the campaign of arrests is no more than a patchwork solution (Al-Jazeera Net)

content problem

The Director of Relations and Media at the Ministry of Interior did not disclose the names of the detainees, but confirmed that they are 5 people, including two women, while press sources indicated the names of these detainees: Hassan Sajma, Sayed Ali, Asal Hussam, Umm Fahd, Qudwa, known as Saalousa.

They are active on the Tiktok application and use vocabulary that has sparked controversy among Iraqis, especially since their followers number hundreds of thousands.

Social researcher Nada al-Abedi believes that digital content needs to study and review the reality of Iraqi society, and to find out the reasons for the majority of young people and adolescents resorting to following these contents, which she described as "devoid of meaning."

In her interview with Al-Jazeera Net, Al-Abedi commented, "There is an absence of an understanding of the meaning of freedom on the part of those who broadcast trivial or superficial content that works to preoccupy young people with issues that may hinder the development of their talents and self-development."

Absence of statistics

In the midst of talking about the problem of digital content, it seems that the government does not have statistics on the numbers or percentages of Iraqis using the Internet and social networks, according to what is confirmed by the spokesman for the Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation, Abdul Zahra Al-Hindawi.

Speaking to Al-Jazeera Net, Al-Hindawi explained that such statistics will not be available before conducting the general population census, pointing out that the ministry announced in mid-January the reconfiguration of the Supreme Authority for the General Population and Housing Census, suggesting that the population census be implemented at the end of this year.

For its part, the Digital Media Center (a non-governmental organization) revealed that the number of users of communication networks of all kinds during the year 2022 amounted to about 28 million and 300 thousand users, with males constituting 67.9%, according to the center.

The ages of social media users range from 5 to 34 years, while the center confirmed that the TikTok application witnessed a significant increase in the number of followers last year.

Nizar Al-Samarrai expressed his fear that the arrests would extend to bloggers criticizing the authority (Al-Jazeera Net)

condemnation of the arrests

Coinciding with the announcement of the arrests by the Ministry of Interior, Nizar Al-Samarrai, a media professor at Al-Israa University College in Baghdad, considered that the arrest of the producers of this type of content is nothing more than a media “shashara” set up by the responsible party to show the Iraqis that it is following up on what is happening, which made it more like an authoritarian oversight body over content. communication Web-sites.

And Al-Samarrai continued - in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net - that the matter appears to be related to a specific group whose publications began to expose the reality of many officials and institutions, including the security authorities that deal with these people until they became the ones who preceded the educated elites, writers and media professionals in public forums.

And he considered that the arrest of those who were described as owners of degrading content is an explicit constitutional violation because there is no justification for it, especially since this content has unfortunately become a feature in the street, so "we are like ostriches, we hide our heads so that we do not see the reality as it is."

As for other solutions away from arrest, Al-Samarrai shows the importance of having intensive community awareness, starting from the young age stages, by approving media and digital education within the vocabulary of the Ministry of Education’s curricula in order to raise awareness of how to deal with such content, while urging young people to ignore it, considering That this method will be more effective than imprisonment and arrest.

He added that among the alternative solutions to arrest: encouraging and supporting young people with meaningful content, while hosting them as guests of honor in social, cultural and official forums instead of hosting those with low content.

Returning to Al-Abedi, she believes that the arrest campaign is not a solution, but rather a patchwork treatment, adding, "This type of content exists in most countries of the world, and instead of arresting those who publish it, it is necessary to address the problem from its roots and address the state of unconsciousness that afflicts society due to the deterioration of social levels." Education and the deadly void experienced by young people.

legal opinion

Legal expert Ali Al-Tamimi believes that the Penal Code clearly distinguishes between insult, slander and defamation, expressing his hope that a special section in the Media and Communications Commission will be opened as an amendment to Law 65 of 2014.

Speaking to Al-Jazeera Net, Al-Tamimi suggests that the Media and Communications Commission assume responsibility for monitoring by activating a specialized department that includes a number of media and law experts, provided that his link is with the Executive Director of the Commission to monitor what is published on the Internet, and refer what violates the law to the judiciary, stressing at the same time the need Legislate the Anti-Cybercrime Law to be a solution to such common crimes.

For his part, Al-Samarrai does not hide his fear that these arrest steps will pave the way for the arrest of other bloggers working to criticize government agencies and the authority, and thus the issue becomes a gag of public opinion, as he put it.