Online defamation: You can get away with it.

Byline: Hassna'a Mokhtar

(image: saeed.jpg

JEDDAH: Circulate an e-mail or a text message implicating your business partner or spreading lies about your supervisor's integrity and you can get away with it. The Cyber Crime Act (CCA), issued by Royal Decree M/18 on Rabi Al-Awwal 7, 1428AH, specifies that defamation on the Internet is against the law and that violators will be punished. However, legal consultant Saeed Al-Huresen says that online defamation still creates problems even though the law clearly lays down the penalty.

"The Cyber Crime Act has not been implemented effectively in order to combat online defamation crimes. These cases are new to …