Do this on social media and risk jail, Dh1 million fine in UAE

Abu Dhabi - Residents should be fully aware of the risks.

Several court cases have come to light where people have sent offensive content on social media.
Under the law, sending anything of an offensive nature on social media is considered a cybercrime. Perpetrators will be jailed and face fines of no less than Dh250,000 up to Dh1 million.
One hapless man who offended his fiancee was sentenced to 60 days in jail and fined Dh20,000 in Abu Dhabi.
The young GCC national had sent his love a message on WhatsApp as a joke, calling her "idiot" (habla in Arabic). Although he claimed to have used that word in a joking manner, she took it as an insult and filed a court case against him, as per an Emarat Al Youm report.
In a second case, a young man landed in court for broadcasting an explicit clip on WhatsApp to a woman on his contact list. 
He claimed that he had sent her the message by accident, as he usually sends people on his list a daily prayer clip. That day he had accidentally forwarded the clip without checking the material beforehand. 
Another man of Arab descent was detained after returning to UAE from his homeland for sending explicit videos and texts to six women in a third case.
He testified that his mobile phone had been stolen while he was in UAE and he had no idea who was sending the explicit content.
According to a legal consultant, Hasan Al Reyami, any content sent on social media or messaging services will be prosecuted under the cybercrimes law. This applies to messages sent on purpose or by "accident".

• Abu Dhabi