This month, Qatari officials approved an amendment to the controversial cybercrimes law. The amendment bans the circulation of images or videos of individuals online without their given consent. Officials tout the amendment as a step forward for privacy within the country, but the amendment is rife for abuse and may threaten freedom of expression and journalism within Qatar.
The punishment for violating the new amendment is one year of prison and/or 100,000 Qatar Riyals (roughly 23,500 Euros). A surface-level analysis of the fine amount may lead one to believe that this amount is tough but fair based on economic measurements such as GDP per capita; where Qataris are amongst the top earners in the world. These economic measures do not tell the full story of the average person in Qatar. The Qatari government heavily subsidizes its nationals through a litany of programs, but most people living in Qatar aren’t Qatari nationals. Rather they are migrant workers. Most estimates say that 90% of the population of Qatar are migrant workers. This means that wealth is not evenly distributed in the country. Furthermore, Qatari officials rarely, if ever, publish data on poverty rates and some estimates suggest that Qatar is an extremely unequal country. Thus wealth is concentrated in the hands of the country’s richest. The 100,000 Qatar Riyal fine is an astronomical amount that most Qataris can’t afford and most of the migrant workers couldn’t fathom paying that much money.
The new amendment does not only threaten the financial stability of those found to be in violation of the Cybercrime Law, but it also threatens press freedoms within Qatar. The newest amendment, much like the Cybercrime Law overall, is overreaching and vague. Journalists in the country already self-censor their own reports in an effort to stay clear of angering authorities, but the newest amendment makes photojournalism and broadcast journalism almost impossible. Rarely do those who violate the rights of others ever consent to having journalists record them in the act. Thus, photojournalism and broadcast journalism is reduced to a lesser version of itself that is only possible in private, preapproved, and curated places chosen by authorities.
These restrictions apply to the average citizen of Qatar too. The vagueness and broad nature of the amendment may make it difficult for Qataris to record abuses by authorities. The ability to record and document police conduct is important. The ability to distribute these events online is important as well. Under the new amendment, this is now impossible.
In Qatar’s attempts to protect privacy in public places through the new amendment, authorities may have introduced a new tool of oppression. Journalists now have to be extremely careful in the way they photograph and record any story that takes place in public spaces. Qatari citizens have now lost the only means of documenting abuse by authorities in public spaces. Qatari officials must immediately tighten the language used in both the amendment and the overall Cybercrime law. As it exists now, the law only offers ways for authorities to violate the spirit of the law to punish those who would criticize officials or dissent.