Legislation called into question as cybercrimes rise

AMMAN — Questions concerning the Electronic Crimes laws and the implementation of stricter penalties have been mounting as Jordanian courts continue to receive complaints of e-crimes.

According to figures related to cybercrimes from the Judicial Council, 22,759 cybercrimes were recorded between 2019 and 2023, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

The Cybercrime Unit at the Public Security Directorate states that the number of cybercrime cases increased almost six-fold over the eight years between 2015 and 2022 — an indication that many use social media platforms without knowing the difference between the freedom of expression and committing offences, unintentionally or not.

The unit said it handled 2,305 cases in 2015, which grew to 16,027 in 2022.

Jordanian courts have received complaints of e-crimes including violations of the privacy of women, children and youth, which often involve unauthorised filming, extortion or online harassment.

The Jordan News Agency, Petra, has documented cases involving 16 individuals accused of committing crimes against workers employed by delivery applications. 

In one case, the privacy of a mother of two was violated when an image of her sleeping was captured and shared in a private social media group of seven created by the offender. 

The court sentenced the offender to six months in prison and imposed a fine of JD100. 

However, such a sentence does not adequately restore the victim's right to privacy, said the Petra report.

In another incident, five people were convicted of charges related to the assault of a driver employed by a ride-sharing app.

According to case details, the driver was requested to transport a woman to her residence. Upon arrival, she asked him to wait as she retrieved his payment from her home. As he waited, she intentionally prolonged her absence. After a significant amount of time had passed, the driver proceeded to look for her, only to discover her door was left open, where he was met with two individuals who then assaulted him.

The primary defendant and the woman were sentenced to seven years with temporary hard labour each.