Questions & Answers
Actions against a cybercrime of invasion of privacy & extortion
Good morning.
Someone stole information from my phone and is now using it to terrorize my contacts. He saved all contacts, photos and videos, some of which including other people.
He keeps texting and threatening to post them on social media. How do I handle this situation without incriminating the people in the photos/videos?
Dear Questioner,
The person who's terrorizing and extorting you can be held legally liable on the following grounds:
Federal Law no. (5) (“Combating Cybercrimes”), Article 16 states: “Shall be punished by imprisonment for a period of two years at most and a fine not less than AED 250,000 and not in excess of AED 500,000 or either of these two penalties whoever uses a computer network or information technology means to extort or threaten another person to force him to engage in or prevent him from engaging in a certain act.”
Article 21 states: “Shall be punished by imprisonment of a period of at least six months and a fine not less than AED 150,000 and not in excess of AED 500,000 or either of these two penalties whoever uses a computer network or/and electronic information system or any information technology means for the invasion of privacy of another person.”
This includes publishing your photographs, and photographs of people without their consent.
In regards to not incriminating the people in the photos and videos, you just need to monitor your social media and if anything is posted you must notify i.e. (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) of the unauthorized posts.
If you know who this person is, we are happy to assist you in making a criminal complaint.
