Personal accounts exempt from E-law

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KUWAIT CITY, Dec 5, (KUNA): The electronic media law regulates the information profession and is not applicable to personal accounts on the social media, said the Information Ministry’s spokesman. Mohammad Al-Awwash denied in a statement on Monday allegations that the new law aims at tightening the noose on freedom of twitter members and those with personal accounts in the digital networks It is rather intended to complete the regulations of the media, the press and the publishing professions, Al-Awwash said.

The Ministry of Information, on July 20, 2016, issued the Ministerial Resolution 100/2016, stipulating executive legislations of the Law 8/2016 on regulating the electronic media. The law, endorsed and published in the offi cial gazette in February, stipulates freedoms of expressions and access to information according to constitutional norms.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) also denied the veracity of reports disseminated on social media claiming that a new surveillance law dealing with these websites has been in effect. “The news is absolutely baseless and untrue,” a statement issued by the ministry on Monday noted, adding that “there hasn’t been any new communication law enacted”, as these reports allege.

Moreover, the statement noted that the MoI is committed to its security obligations without encroaching on personal liberties. The statement also underscored that a new information technology law, which has been implemented since January 12, has dictated the different penalties that violators will face, noting that the law does not authorize the ministry to intrude on peoples’ privacies. It also added that social media users are free to utilize the platform as they see fi t, and will only face legal action in case of any infractions of state laws

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