The Saudis need to get tough on cybercrime, is the thrust of a three-day conference held in Riyadh. There’s no question that there are criminals making use of the Internet and other electronic communications to separate people from their money. But Saudi law gets a little too broad, it seems, when it seeks to criminalize more ambiguous ‘crimes’ like leaking damaging information that could ‘adversely affect’ the national economy. Almost anything could be construed as ‘adversely affecting’ anything. That means that subjective judgments will be used in deciding who is a criminal or not, not a good basis for law.

Online criminals risk jail sentences, fines
Abdul Hannan Tago | Arab News

RIYADH: Criminals who break Internet laws could face 12-month jail sentences, fines of around SR500,000, or both, said Soroor Mohammad Al-Abdulwahab of the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution (BIPP).

Al-Abdulwahab made the comments while delivering a paper at a three-day conference on combating cybercrime.

The event, which is being held at Riyadh’s Al-Faisalia Hotel and which ended on Wednesday, was organized by BIPP in cooperation with Naif Arab University for Security Sciences. Al-Abdulwahab said the above punishments could be increased if the crime is committed by an organized gang, or if a perpetrator abuses his authority or influence in corrupting minors.

Al-Abdulwahab also detailed 16 articles of a law created by Royal Decree over two years ago to combat online crime. These articles include the listening or accessing of illegal material by e-mail or via a website, using the net to threaten or blackmail someone, invasion of privacy, defamation, theft, Internet hacking, and distribution of pornography, terrorism-related material and data that could adversely affect the Kingdom’s security or economy.
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