The Criminal Confrontation of Spreading False News on Social Media in the Jordanian Legislation: A Comparative Study
Dr. Muath Yahia Al-Zoubi
Assistant Professor of Criminal Law
School of Law, The University of Jordan
Dr. Mohammad Nawwaf AL-Fawareh
Associate Professor of Criminal Law
School of Law, The University of Jordan
Abstract:
This article concerns the issue of spreading false news via social networking sites; This is a significant topic in the present period given the spread of online communication methods, the dialectic of the concept of false news, as well as the absence of a precise definition of its content. Accordingly, this study clarified the concept of false news, and the adopted approach of comparative legislation to address the crime of spreading false news; Specifically, the imposition of self-censorship on social networking sites or criminalising the spreading of false news in relevant penal laws. The study concluded that there is no independent criminalisation of the publication of false news in Jordanian legislation, with criminalisation being related to the desired goal of the offender from publishing false news, as opposed to some comparative legislation such as the Malaysian legislator. This study recommended that the penal legislator deals with the spread of false news as an independent crime, irrespective of the perpetrator’s purpose, alongside a toughening of punishment in circumstances where a special intent exists to prejudice national or social values that the state is keen to preserve.
Keywords: fake news, fabricated news, self-censorship, content removal, and news correction.