Qatar Emir passes cybercrime law

Qatar has launched a new cybercrime law, aimed at stamping out a number of online threats by issuing penalties for a variety of criminal activities online.

The new law, ratified by the Emir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on Monday, includes a number of changes to previous legislation which will see stricter penalties imposed for electronic fraud, copyright infringement, electronic card crimes, aiding terrorism, spreading false information through websites and the distribution of child pornography.

Containing some 54 articles, the law – law number 14 of 2014 - will come into immediate effect according to Qatar News Agency (QNA).

The law imposes penalties on hackers accessing an “information system of any state agency, institution, authority, or related company,” of a three-year jail term and a fine of up to QR500,000.

Spreading false news with the aim of destablising national security is punishable with a jail sentence of up to three years and a fine of up to QR500,000, and using websites to spread terrorism or support terrorist groups warrants the same punishment.

The distribution, importing, producing, selling or using of child pornography will result in a five-year jail term and a fine not exceeding QR500,000, while according to the new law, forgery of electronic documents is punishable by a jail sentence not exceeding ten years, and/or a fine of up to QR200,000.

The law also contains provisions about the use of unlawfully acquired electronic card data as well as punishments for copyright infringement.

The details of the law are as follows:

Crimes on systems, programmes, information networks, and websites:

Imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, and a fine not exceeding QR500,000 for every individual who unlawfully accessed, through the internet or other IT related ways, a website or information system of any state agency, institution, authority or related company.

Imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, and a fine not exceeding QR500,000, or one of these two sentences, for every individual who, premeditatedly, unlawfully and through any means, accessed a website, information system, information network, IT tool or part of an IT tool, violated authorised access, or kept using any of the latter even after knowing of the unauthorised access.

Imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, and a fine not exceeding QR100,000, or one of these two sentences for every individual who, premeditatedly and unlawfully, intercepted, blocked or tapped into any data transmitted through the internet, any other IT applications, or traffic data.

Content crimes:

Imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, and a fine not exceeding QR500,000 for every individual who created or managed a website of a terrorist group or organisation on the internet or through any other related IT tools, facilitated communication with leaders or members of these groups, spread their ideas, financed them, or published ways to make harmful substances or explosions or any tools used in terrorist activities.

Imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, and a fine not exceeding QR500,000 for every individual who created or managed a website to spread false news in order to jeopardise the safety of the state, its general order and its local or international peace.

And imprisonment for a term not exceeding one years, and a fine not exceeding QR250,000 or one of these two sentences, for every individual who, with the same intention of the latter, spread the false news, aired it or published it through any means.

Imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, and a fine not exceeding QR500,000 for every individual who produced a child pornography content through IT means or imported, sold, put on sale, used, exchanged, transported, distributed, sent, published, made available, or aired any child pornography through IT means.

And imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, and a fine not exceeding QR250,000 or one of these two sentences, for every individual who owned any child pornography.

Child consent is not taken into consideration in this article.  A child in this article is every individual who have not completed full 18 years old of age.

Imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, and a fine not exceeding QR100,000 or one of these two sentences, for every individual who violated any of the social values and principles, or published news, pictures, audio or video recordings related to the private or family life of individuals, even if the content is true, or aggressed another person with libel and slander through the internet or any other IT means.

Imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, and a fine not exceeding QR100,000 or one of these two sentences , for every individual who used the internet or any other IT means to intimidate, threaten or extort another person in order to make or stop them from doing something.

Electronic forgery and fraud:

Imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years, and a fine not exceeding QR200,000 for every individual who forged an official electronic document or used it knowingly.

And imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, and a fine not exceeding QR100,000 or one of these two sentences, for every individual who forged an unofficial electronic document and used it knowingly.

Imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, and a fine not exceeding QR100,000 or one of these two sentences, for every individual who committed one of the following acts:

• Used the internet or any other IT means to impersonate a natural or juristic person.
• Was able, through the internet or any other IT means, to acquire for himself or someone else, transmitted money or bonds that he signed to receive through fraud or impersonation using false name

Electronic Cards Crime:

Imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, and a fine not exceeding QR200,000 or one of these two sentences, for every individual who committed one of the following acts:

• Unlawfully obtained, made available or used electronic card data through the internet or any other IT means
• Forged an electronic card in any way or form
• Made or obtained without proper authorisation machines or material used in making or forging electronic cards
• Knowingly used or facilitated the use of a forged electronic card
• Knowingly accepted expired, forged or stolen electronic cards.

Copyright infringement:

Imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, and a fine not exceeding QR500,000 or one of these two sentences for every individual who used the internet or any other IT means to infringe or enable infringement, in any way or form, against protected copyright and related rights, patents, commercial secrets, commercial data, trademarks, geographical indicators, industrial plans and oritotypes or integrated circuit designs.

Qatar News Agency