King Abdullah II of Jordan approved a bill Saturday to penalise a variety of online speech, including posts that contain content ‘promoting, instigating, aiding, or inciting immorality.” Such posts are punishable with fines or months in prison. Posts that demonstrate ‘contempt for religion’ or ‘undermining national unity’ are also prohibited.

The bill has been criticised by several human rights organisations, such as Human Rights Watch (HRW), Access Now and the Gulf Center for Human Rights, on the basis that the legislation jeopardises “digital rights, including freedom of expression and the right to information.” HRW stated that “Such vague provisions open the door for Jordan’s executive branch to punish individuals for exercising their right to freedom of expression, forcing the judges to convict citizens in most cases.”

Opposition politicians and activists have voiced concerns that the bill will be used to target speech that is critical of the government, although Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh previously said that the bill will not target speech protected by the constitution. Judges have the choice of either fines or prison as a means of punishment. 

Over the past years, Jordanian authorities have criminalized and restricted civil freedoms through laws such as the Crime Prevention Law of 1954, the Penal Code of 1960, the Anti-Terrorism Law of 2006 and the Cybercrime Law of 2015. 

The bill replaces Jordan’s 2015 cybercrime laws and comes into effect one month after it is published in the state newspaper, Al-Rai.