UAE Studies Increasing Penalty for Cursing on Social Media

Lesson Brief BBC Arabic
On June 16, BBC Arabic reported that the UAE is considering upping the penalty for cursing or getting into altercations on social media sites and apps such as Twitter and Whatsapp. The suggested penalties called for a fine of up to 4 million dirhams (USD 1 million), time in prison, and/or expulsion for foreign nationals. Although the laws in the UAE against indecency on social media platforms are ostensibly in place to keep social media "clean," it is widely suspected that the primary goal is to silence political opposition.

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