A deranged husband. And an unfashionable father
At first, the wife thought that her husband was obsessed with photography, so he chased her with his phone's camera repeatedly, but over time, she began to feel very annoyed and upset about his behavior, especially since he does not differentiate between decent situations for photography, and those that offend her modesty!
I finally realized that the man who is supposed to be the most careful of people, is not honest at all, and went beyond just filming her with his phone, to monitoring her with cameras at home, so I filed a lawsuit, was convicted by the court for invasion of privacy, and was punished with a fine!
The previous case may be an individual case, especially in our societies, but it is an appropriate introduction to talk about privacy, in light of the rush of many to convey all the details of their lives through social networks!
A sharp controversy is currently raised about the application «Tik Tok», and the intention of a number of Western governments to ban its use among their employees, due to risks that threaten security and privacy, which makes us as individuals pause a little to read the scene, as it affects us directly, because it is one of the most popular applications among Arabs and others, and there is intense competition to appear through it, specifically among adolescents who lack the ability to distinguish between what is decent and safe, and what constitutes a violation of their privacy, and threatens their security!
I know a person who suffers a lot with his teenage daughter, after discovering that she appears with her friends in inappropriate clips, both morally and familyly, and when he reproached her, she considered him an intransigent and unfashionable father!
The UAE legislator has fortified the privacy of society and individuals with tight legal articles in modern legislation, Law No. 34 of 2021, which criminalizes violating privacy in any way, whether by publishing or even keeping a picture or video of a person without his consent, such as the case of the husband with whom we started the article!
According to Article 44 of the law, the penalty is imprisonment for a period of not less than six months, and a fine of up to 500,<> dirhams, for those involved in committing this crime, but attention must be paid to a very important thing, which is that the crime of invasion of privacy is related to the victim's dissatisfaction, as the state provides full protection, even in the case of involvement in sending inappropriate images or content to someone, as long as the owner does not agree to publish it, but we remain responsible for what we publish of our free will!
The real dilemma is that privacy itself has become a relative issue, what was rejected yesterday has become permissible by some, in pursuit of fame or money, and we see accounts of couples displaying the details of their personal lives in public, and even to the point of exploiting children to achieve more views!
The challenge is great, especially when it comes to our children, as the current generation is difficult to handle, and the external means of influence are strong and multiple, and there are dozens of reports and lawsuits related to the issue of privacy, so we must be vigilant, close and disciplined, what we raise them will show to people.
Arbitrator and legal advisor.