Law curbing internet speech shocks Jordanians. Will king step in?
Members of the Jordanian parliament attend a session on the proposed cybercrime law, in Amman, Jordan, July 27, 2023. The legislation is expected to land on the king鈥檚 desk by early next week.
Alaa Al Sukhni/Reuters
AMMAN, Jordan
Jordan, long聽a聽West-friendly聽outlier聽in a troubled region, may soon have the most restricted internet and speech in the Arab world.
A聽cybercrime law聽that conservative elements in the king鈥檚 hand-picked government introduced just last month聽鈥� and are pushing quickly to passage聽鈥� is being flagged by detractors as a 鈥渓egislative coup.鈥�
They say it contains聽vague language that could curb speech and internet freedoms,聽creating聽a 鈥渢hrowback to martial law days.鈥�
Why We Wrote This
By threatening King Abdullah鈥檚 promised democratic reforms, draft 鈥渇ake news鈥� legislation is placing the Jordanian monarch at the center of his people鈥檚 struggle for rights and freer speech.
The legislation聽was passed by Jordan鈥檚 Parliament last week and聽by the聽unelected Senate,聽which made minor revisions, on Tuesday.聽It is expected to land on the monarch鈥檚 desk by early next week, a pen stroke away from becoming law.
By threatening to sabotage聽King Abdullah鈥檚聽promised聽democratic聽reforms, the legislation is placing聽the聽monarch at the center of Jordanians鈥� struggle for rights and聽freer聽speech.
How he responds will be for many liberal Jordanians the final word on whether Jordan is heading toward democratic reform or full autocracy.
Although Jordanians are barred from insulting the king聽in public, they have enjoyed the freedom聽to criticize and lampoon聽king-appointed governments and public officials, freedoms that grew with the spread of the internet and social media over the past 15 years and were taken for granted by many as a right.
New government tool
The draft cybercrime law聽is聽an update of an existing law聽and provides the government with new tools it says it needs聽to protect the kingdom from hacking, cyberterrorism, cyberbullying, and pornography.
In interviews with local media, the king-appointed Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh has pledged that the law will not curb freedoms and serves to 鈥減rotect the public,鈥� insisting the government is open to criticism.
But, legal experts warn, that criticism may soon land you in jail.
Several articles in the 40-article bill deal with online expression, criminalizing聽鈥� without defining 鈥� such things as聽鈥渇ake news,鈥� 鈥渃haracter assassination,鈥� 鈥渉ate speech,鈥� and 鈥渃ontempt of religions.鈥�
If聽the legislation is signed into law,聽anyone聽could聽be held criminally liable for posting, reposting, or 鈥渓iking鈥� speech the government deems to fit these聽categories.聽The law holds聽individuals聽legally responsible for comments left by others on their posts, social media pages, or websites 鈥� even on past posts聽that others flag anew.
The law gives the government the authority to detain a suspect for up to a year before trial.
Mohammad Qteishat,聽a聽legal expert and former director of the Jordan Media Commission,聽which聽regulates the media, says the law is an assault on speech and expression聽鈥渋n violation of the Jordanian constitution.鈥�
鈥淭he text is very flexible. You cannot find explanations for these terms in the law,鈥� says Mr. Qteishat,聽who聽terms the law聽a tool for widening government authority.
鈥淭his will protect the government, the prime minister, and governmental departments from criticism,鈥澛爃e says, 鈥渁nd gives the general prosecutor the ability to sue anyone who criticizes the government.鈥�
As of this writing, it is not clear聽whether this article聽would聽be criminalized.
Impact on reforms
The law requires any social media platform, website, or app that has 100,000 or more Jordanian users or followers to open an office in Jordan and submit to regulations.聽Failure to comply allows the government to severely restrict sites鈥� internet bandwidth, a tactic already used by security services to disrupt Facebook Live and other livestreaming apps in times of protests.
鈥淭hey want Jordan鈥檚 media silent聽[just as in]聽any other Arab autocratic state,鈥� says Nidal Mansour, of the Amman-based Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists.
The law also deals with what some Jordanians are calling a 鈥渄eathblow鈥� to the king-ordered political reforms launched last year to win over an apathetic and聽skeptical聽public,聽such as allowing political activism on university campuses, encouraging young people to join political parties, and allowing political parties to take part in government.
Pro-palace reformists say they have been 鈥渂lindsided.鈥�
鈥淲e have been fighting like hell to convince Jordanians that this time the king and the state are serious about reforms and that they should take part in political life,鈥澛爏ays one, requesting anonymity. 鈥淲ho is ever going to take part in public life now? We will have lost Jordanians鈥� trust for generations.鈥�
The government rushed this bill聽through聽an extraordinary summer session of Parliament聽while聽many prominent figures are outside the country and聽much of聽the international community is consumed with the war in Ukraine and the political crisis in neighboring Israel.
The U.S. State Department offered a rare criticism of Jordan last week, noting that 鈥渢his type of law, with vague definitions and concepts, could undermine Jordan鈥檚 homegrown economic and political reform efforts.鈥�
Pro-palace reformists are even more blunt.
鈥淗ow can we claim we are moving towards democracy?鈥� says a former culture minister, Mohammed Abu Rumman.
Economic cost
The law will likely impact the聽kingdom鈥檚 local tech industry and the thousands of Jordanian computer engineers who work remotely for international companies and collectively manage the majority of Arabic online content.
鈥淚f you are pursuing a law like this, you are not encouraging companies to come here and work,鈥� says Issa Mahasneh, director of Jordan Open Source Association, a Jordanian nonprofit that advocates for tech users鈥� rights.
鈥淭his creates so much uncertainty. If I have a food-delivery app, am I now legally liable for bad restaurant reviews left by users?鈥� he said. 鈥淭his will impact both free speech and the IT [information technology] sector.鈥�
The biggest cost, former officials and economists say, is to the Economic Modernization Vision, the grand strategy聽to save Jordan鈥檚 floundering economy聽formed by hundreds of businesspeople and experts from 2021 to 2022 at the behest of King Abdullah.
The vision calls for attracting $60 billion in foreign and local investment over a decade to finance thousands of startups and initiatives and create 1 million jobs for Jordanians.
鈥淵ou are stopping Jordanians from being part of global initiatives, and you are dissuading investors from coming to Jordan,鈥� says Maen Qatamin, former minister of investment and economist. 鈥淥n what basis are you going to attract $60 billion of investment in a climate of oppression?鈥�
Majdi, an unemployed business administration major聽seeking聽an investor for a startup business,聽says聽he attended his first-ever protest last Friday against the law.
鈥淥nce this law is passed, none of us will be able to criticize an official for failing to live up to their duty or聽[critique]聽a failed policy or even the economy,鈥� says Majdi, whose name was changed for legal protection. 鈥淲e will all pay the price with our future.鈥�
Domestic power play
With such broad opposition, why is the government rushing the law to passage?聽Observers say the motivations聽are domestic and reflect fear.
The kingdom is facing 24% unemployment and 40% youth unemployment. Its central bank is raising interest rates alongside the U.S.聽Federal Reserve聽to keep the Jordanian dinar pegged to the U.S. dollar.
Jordan is expected to negotiate a new International Monetary Fund loan at the end of 2023,聽which may require聽unpopular measures such as lifting water, electricity, or wheat subsidies.
鈥淲e are in the middle of a serious economic crisis,鈥� says Oraib Rintawi, a former member of a royal political reform committee.聽鈥淲hen you don鈥檛 have solid things to offer the public to convince them that the future will be better, one alternative is restriction and ignoring people鈥檚 concerns and criticisms. It鈥檚聽a protective but destructive measure.鈥�
Former lawmakers and observers also聽say聽the law is driven by聽hard-line and autocratic elements聽who聽are chafing at public criticism and wish to claw back speech gains and protect their economic and political interests from scrutiny.
鈥淭hese individuals want to take us back to the era before internet, before social media, before the IT revolution,鈥� says former Parliament member聽Rula Hroob, a founder of the Labor聽Party聽and promoter of political reforms.聽鈥淭hey are trying to put every single Jordanian into a time machine and send us back 20 years.鈥�
Former officials and members of Parliament say聽the law will 鈥渕ake it impossible鈥� for reformist, opposition, and independent candidates to discuss issues or gain a following, ensuring that conservatives and security services dominate Parliament and future governments.
鈥淚nstead of releasing pressure from this pressure cooker, you are closing the valve, turning up the heat, and making it boil,鈥� warns Mr. Qatamin, the former investment minister.
Last hope: the king鈥檚 pen
State-controlled media outlets and those pressured by the government聽have so far glossed over the cybercrime law鈥檚 impact on speech freedoms, leaving most Jordanians unaware of the full impact.
Legal experts, reformists, journalists, and young Jordanians say their last hope is an intervention by King Abdullah,聽to either reject the law or demand it is amended.
On Monday evening, the Arabic hashtags #the_cybercrime_law_is_against_the_king鈥檚_vision and #the_king_is_protector_of_freedoms were trending in Jordan.
鈥淭his is a chance for the king to stand with the people against those who would destroy his reforms and the economy,鈥� says one former minister.
鈥淚f His Majesty returns the law, it will be a victory for civil society and it will encourage reformists within the state to continue pushing,鈥� adds Mr. Abu Rumman.
But an approval of the law, some Jordanians claim, would expose the king鈥檚 reform promises as hollow聽鈥� and put the country on the path to autocracy.聽聽
鈥淎ll we want to do is to build, innovate, and give back to our country,鈥澛爏ays Majdi, the business major,聽鈥渁nd now we are being stopped.鈥�