“Freedom of Speech” in Today’s Digital Era

In today’s digital era, there are no limits to sharing, obtaining or disclosing information. Practicing such massive capability, however, doesn’t come without accountability! In this article, we will discuss how to use “sharing Information” capability as a major tool to practice your fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression of your opinions. 

Law, in a simple statement, is all about logical protection AND orchestration of the rightful practice of individuals' activities. It's not set to be a punishment or limitation tool in itself! Starting from there, we need to know how we could practice our right of freedom of speech without infringing on any laws of the state of Qatar.  

First things first, what is the “Right of freedom of speech, opinion, and expression”?  

There is no set definition for the right itself, rather, there are many well recognized and agreed forms for the Practice of such rights. Anyways, we may refer to article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” Such article sets the bold and fundamental rights of expressions without down breaking or mentioning the specifics or constraints, leaving them to the national laws and legal system.  

Thus, according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as a general rule and in simple words, you have the absolute right to express whatever opinions you might have in whatever subject you wish, through any medium you choose and in any language you prefer. Sounds great, doesn’t it!  

Locally, In Qatar, article 47 of the national constitution states “Freedom of expression of opinion and scientific research is guaranteed under the conditions and circumstances set forth in the Law”. As you may note, here comes the rule of the national laws in organizing the whole matter & we may say that they come very similar to the worldwide recognized rights and practices. 

What are the major rules to practicing this right?! 

Like other nations and world best practices, the national constitution, laws, and executive order, all of them generally draw two thick red lines while practicing the right of freedom of speech; Personal life, and intellectual properties!! Think twice before you deal with them because they are even rights, granted to everyone and evenly protected.  

To make this clear, there is a well-known rule stating, “practice of your rights shall stop when facing other individuals right”, makes sense?!  

Here comes the role of detailed laws to rule the common practice of your right, again, it’s all about logic. Therefore, article 37 of the Qatari constitution prohibits any kind of infringement on personal privacy or interference in family affairs as it states, “The sanctity of an individual’s privacy shall be inviolable, and therefore interference in a person’s privacy, family affairs, home or correspondence, or any other act of interference that may demean or defame a person, shall not be allowed, save as permitted by the provisions stipulated in the Law”.  Such a constitutional instrument is replicated in many national laws that a single article may not cover, so please stay away from the family & personal issues of others. 

Other forms that are generally criminalized are those related to hate speech, flaming, and any other form that may promote hate spreading or harassment.  

In general, Hate Speech may be identified as the ”speech or expression that denigrates a person or persons on the basis of (alleged) membership in a social group identified by attributes such as race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, physical or mental disability, and others”. 

Flaming could be portrayed as “a hostile online interaction that involves insulting messages, or flames, between users”. Flaming may occur in the context of Internet forums, chat rooms, Usenet groups, social networks, and game lobbies, where there is a mix of people with differing ideologies from different cultures. 

As you may notice, both examples are happening through stigmatizing others, or as described “Social Stigma”. Such act, whatever you may name it or in whatever form it might be shaped, is prohibited by the constitution, the highest law in any country. Article 35 states “All persons are equal before the law and there shall be no discrimination whatsoever on grounds of gender, race, language or religion” so no one will be complemented over the other. Article 50 states “Freedom to practice religious rites shall be guaranteed to all persons in accordance with the Law and the requirements of the maintenance of public order and morality” so no one has the right to mock others on a religious basis. Those are just examples, therefore respect everyone at all times and keep your practice in a rightful manner by having a dialogue instead of any offensive expression when it comes to personal matters. 

What are my responsibilities while practicing my rights of expression?! 

Simply, treat people like you wish to be treated, sounds familiar! 

Freedom of expression isn’t there to insult others, on the contrary, it’s there to take part in the human community. So, just be a fair and faithful human being and act with respect and integrity while expressing your opinion through any medium. You, definitely, do not wish to be insulted, discriminated against, or impersonated, likewise, others wouldn’t and the law should protect and organize all of such. 

After stating the plain rights, are there any legal consequences for misbehaving or misusing my right of expression?! 

Certainly, yes! 

There are many clauses in the Qatari statutory that criminalize such acts. Moreover, there are certain circumstances where the punishment is intensified or increased if the aggression is made through named methods.  

As an example, article 8 of law number 14/2014 on combating Cybercrime states “Whoever violates social principles or values; or otherwise publishes news, picture photos, audio or visual recordings connected to the sanctity of personal or family life of any person, even if it is true; or infringes on others by libel or slander via Information Network or any other information Technology means shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years and a fine not exceeding (QAR 100,000) one hundred thousand Riyals or either of these two penalties.” 

Further, Article 11.a of the same law states a punishment of imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years and a fine not exceeding (QAR 100,000) one hundred thousand Riyals or either of these two penalties on whoever uses information network or any means of information technology to impersonate a legal or natural person. This means digital impersonation in the Qatari code is criminalized regardless of the intention behind such behavior. 

One last thing to be noted, article 6 of same act states “Whoever sets up or manages an electronic Site via information Network or any other Information Technology means to publish false news with the aim to jeopardize the State safety, its public order, or its internal and external security, shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years and a fine not exceeding (QAR 500,000) five hundred thousand Riyals or either of these two penalties. 

And whoever promotes, broadcasts, or publishes false news by any means for the same intent shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year and a fine not exceeding (QAR 250,000) two hundred fifty-thousand Riyals or either of these two penalties”. So, regardless of your political stands and beliefs, the law protects the greater good of the community and it does not jeopardize the State’s safety, through publishing false news under any claim, even the claim of right of expression of opinion! In this regard, it worth mentioning that this is a global trend and does not affect the individual's right of expression.  

Finally, we just stated some examples of the practices of the right in addition to some associated responsibilities and accountabilities for such practices. We would like to remind you that the right of expression is a fundamental right that we encourage you to make use of and promote. On the other hand, we have to strengthen the practice of such rights, like any other right, shall be observed by yourself in the first place and that the way you're practicing such right is definitely mirroring your environment and off-screen behavior, so be a representative of your family and online community as you wish to be praised for the same behavior offline.