Courts in Abu Dhabi and Kuwait issue rulings on digital privacy and social media crimes

In Abu Dhabi, the Family, Civil and Administrative Court has ordered two men to pay Dh20,000 in compensation to a woman for moral and psychological damages. The defendants were convicted of secretly filming the woman and using the private footage to blackmail and threaten her via WhatsApp and other electronic accounts. The court found that the actions caused significant emotional distress. The two men had previously received a criminal sentence of six months' imprisonment, suspended for three years.

In Kuwait, the Supreme Court upheld a fine of 2,000 Kuwaiti Dinars against a female social media influencer for posting obscene videos on Snapchat that violated public morals. In addition to the fine, the court ordered the confiscation of the mobile phone used to create and share the content. The influencer was also accused of using cybercrime complaints as a tool to target individuals who criticized her online.