Samaher Saif Al Yazal
In light of the acceleration of the technical development and the great openness witnessed by social media of all kinds, it has been observed that there is an increase in inappropriate or involving public morals, and some of them believe that this takes place within the framework of freedom of opinion and expression, and does not fall under the penalty of legal accountability, which raises questions about the limits of freedom of opinion and expression, and the effectiveness of laws in the Kingdom of Bahrain to address such phenomena.
The statistics of the Public Prosecution revealed that cases of abuse of social media platforms for the year 2024 amounted to 2215 cases, as the “Instagram” and “tuk tuk” platform topped the number of misuse cases, which calls for a radical solution and strict action to face the non -purposeful content spread in most social media applications, which establish destructive behaviors and ideas, and a bad exploitation of the application in spreading the content that does not It is appropriate for our Gulf or Arab societies.
Where the concerned authorities referred 366 cases, and 49 cases were recorded that they were under investigation, while 993 cases were reserved during the past year.
The concerned authorities continued to move “and beating with an iron hand” during the period from May 31, 2025 to July 2, by imprisoning and referring 7 accused for their abuse of social media programs and publicly speaking to them with conversations and gestures contrary to public morals and the publication of clips that violate modesty through the media.
According to the We Are Social platform, the number of “Tik Talk” users reached 1.19 million users of 18 years and more in Bahrain in early 2025.
For his part, Bahraini society denounced the issuance of some relief, because it exceeds the limits of literature, scratches public taste, and opinions varied between prohibiting applications and restricting their content, and between increasing awareness and creating a conscious generation capable of choosing the content it sees, while stressing the deterrent legal procedure. Where Umm Ahmed said that «controlling children and adolescents is one of the risks of the descending content has become very difficult, so the process of persuading the child and the teenager that this thing is wrong, and it cannot be enjoyed, but rather is very difficult, and this makes the education process complicated and in need of a long time by the parents, so I called for the prohibition of applications for these contents similar to the European and Asian countries, to preserve the youth and society.”
While Munira Adel stressed the increase in awareness and continuous monitoring by parents and parents, and the conscious guidance of children and girls, regarding the published content and which they follow, and said that the new generation is different, and hears the logic and can distinguish what is harmful to it and what benefits it if the method used in advice and guidance is correct, noting that social media platforms have good and with goodness, but the awareness is what determines what we are.
For his part, Abu Youssef called for stressing the legal measures taken towards every publisher or a presenter of the violated content, and he said that the severe punishment is the strongest deterrent of these groups that seek to corruption of society, and uses the various means of harm instead of benefit, without regard to public morals, and the shame of the conservative Bahraini society and rejects such phenomena.
While the legal advisor, Muhammad al -Thawadi, said that we must realize that freedom of opinion is guaranteed to everyone under the text of Article 23 of the constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and every person has the right to express his opinion and publish it by saying or writing or otherwise, except that this freedom is not absolute, but rather it must stand at its natural limit established in the constitution, which requires not to violate religious or social values or cause damage to public order, which does not require that or not Expressing the conditions and conditions approved by the law, not to affect the foundations of the Islamic faith or the unity of the people, and not deal with what raises the division or sectarianism.
The Bahraini legislator means organizing the issue of freedom of opinion and expression in general, and dealing with digital content in particular, and it has responded to the inappropriate digital content effectively through many legal texts that he mentioned in the laws of penalties and information technology crimes. In Article 350 of the Penal Code, the legislator decided to punish the imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year or a fine for everyone who actually violated public modesty, as he decided in Article 355 of the same law to punish imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years and a fine for everyone who printed, imported, issued, obtained or presented with the intention of exploitation or distribution, writings, publications, pictures, films, or other things that violate public modesty.
On the other hand, we find that the legislator in the Information Technology Crime Law stressed the crimes of publishing or broadcasting pornographic and abusive materials or the threat via the Internet, in Article 5 of him decided to punish the imprisonment and a fine that does not exceed thirty thousand dinars for everyone who used the information network or a means of information technology in a threat or blackmailing a person to carry out an act or refrain from it, as he decided in Article 10 of it to punish the imprisonment for a period of no less than a year and a fine not exceeding ten thousand dinars These two penalties, for everyone who produced, imported, sold, displayed, traded, or distributed, or allowed via the information network or any other technical means pornography or violating public morals.
Although there are many clear and explicit legal texts on this issue, there are still many problems that lie in the difficulty of immediate monitoring; Due to the cross -border nature, which makes it difficult to chase the content at the actual moment of broadcasting, especially publishing through unknown or fake accounts. In addition to slow legal procedures, which may lead to immediate or effective deterrence. In addition to the lack of legal awareness among young people and new influencers on what “illegal content” or “legal limits for publication”, not to mention the technologies used to hide data such as the use of VPN networks or temporary accounts, which makes it difficult for the tracking and prosecution process.
Therefore, it has become necessary to address such problems, by strengthening the partnership between the security authorities and social media with the aim of blocking the violating content as soon as it is monitored and reported to take the necessary legal measures regarding the perpetrators of this violation, with the need to work to accelerate the legal measures to deal with electronic content immediately before its spread, and the launch of awareness campaigns directed to users of digital platforms that explain to them the need to preserve the legality of content Presenter, and the penalties resulting from their violation, with a warning that cooperating between all users in reporting violations, and we may also need to increase the penalties in cases of oud to be more deterrent to the violators who are reckless.
Socialist Sarah Youssef emphasized that many of these reliefs provide only descending content, profanity words, direct suggestions, and sometimes behaviors that promote moral escape under the cover of “entertainment”, and the worst that some teenagers see in this model a quick way for fame and profit. And on the reasons for coming to such a act psychologically, the social worker, Sarah Youssef, showed that some use these platforms:
To satisfy narcissistic needs “such as the need to pay attention, admiration”, which may lead to pathological behaviors such as addiction to fame or virtual acceptance.
She explained that the damage of the disrupted broadcasts includes:
– Distorting the image of the Bahraini society, the world is exported to the world, which shows the people of Bahrain as if they are unconscious and principles. She explained that the effect reaches the follower, as it leads to the addiction of exciting content. In addition to the confusion of identity, as the teenager does not know whether he satisfies his family, or does he imitate the influencers to bring together followers!, It also causes disturbance in values, so the bold and violating becomes more acceptable than balanced and respected.
As for the proposed solutions, Sarah Yusuf called for:- Early digital education: To protect our children with knowledge, not only by prohibition.
The family counselor and psychologist d. Dalal Al -Atawi that, and in light of the accelerated digital openness, the family is no longer made alone the child’s awareness, but the phone and social media have become partners in education; Due to the children’s uses of phones and their direct dealing with social platforms, as the influencer has become “and the invisible role model it provides, digging in the consciousness of the young, without feeling that.
She added: It has become familiar to see children imitating movements, words, and behaviors of some of the influencers who lack social responsibility, spreading content in which superficial review, vulgar words, or even behaviors contrary to public morals, under the name of “entertainment”, while in fact and reality they establish unhealthy models that may harm the psychological and behavioral development of the child, and produce it Negative ideas harmful to the social beliefs and entity of the child.
Al -Atawi said: “Many recent studies in media psychology have shown that the frequent presentation of exciting or negative content to children and adolescents directly affects their behavior and emotions, and may even change their way of interpreting reality. According to a study published in Journal of Adolescent Health, the continuous exposure to influencers glorifying verbal violence, descending, ridicule, or a culture of surface consumption doubles the possibilities of behavioral problems in young followers and lead to personal disorders.
Perhaps the most dangerous is that some of these influencers go beyond the limits of taste or morals, especially because of the pursuit of fame and rapid profit, without taking into account the societal beliefs and norms, and at that time their victims are unlikely immature groups intellectually and psychologically. Therefore, we need to distribute the responsibility in three major bodies that contribute to preserving children from the danger of what is reviewed on social media, in the first place the family comes as the first safety valve to protect children from the risks of what is reviewed on social media, so parents should realize that granting the phone to the child does not mean giving up the educational role, but that the oversight today has become more digital than being realistic as well as the importance of dialogue with the children, Participating in the selection of content, and following up what they see, it is important to be a top priority for each guardian as the role of educational and media institutions comes, it is necessary that digital awareness programs be included in school educational curricula, and that teachers are trained to detect the psychological effects of electronic content, especially when they notice that the child imitates the behavior of some influencers with negative content, in addition to the importance of directing students towards positive use and consciousness of platforms Social also comes as the role of members of society by reporting harmful content, with the importance of enacting strict laws criminalizing the broadcast of any content that threatens the mental health of the child, incites bullying, or publishing misleading behavioral patterns. The content must also be classified and the age groups allowed to follow it, as is the world. We cannot ignore the societal and national dimension of this problem, as the spread of descending and irresponsible content issued by individuals affiliated with Bahraini society, and is presented on international platforms, directly offended the image of Bahrain as a country that respects values, education and morals. We define ourselves digitally as we define our passport. Every influence appears in a reckless manner, or pronounces vulgar words, or exercises a clear review in front of the child’s audience, not only offends himself, but also affixes these behaviors a stereotype of our environment, our upbringing, and our morals.
Al -Atawi emphasized that Bahraini society is known for its preparation, moderation, and its adherence to religious and social values. Therefore, protecting children from distorted content is not limited to protecting individuals only, but is part of protecting the reputation of society itself and its image in front of the world. And she added, the experiences of many countries have proven that protecting the child in the digital environment is not an option, but a national necessity. Every child is exposed to intellectual or moral distortion is a project of a future crisis. The influence that underestimates his mind and behavior, is in fact threatening the fabric of society in the long run. Not everyone who has fame deserves to be an example, and not everyone who has followers who have the positive effect. We, as parents, educators and institutions, must put this red line: that our children are not a test tool in the hands of those who do not know the seriousness of what they offer on the psychological and social level.
