Munira Farhan
Social media has become an integral part of our daily life, so it has become necessary to understand the line between freedom of expression and falling into the trap of electronic crimes, as these platforms provided a fertile environment for expression, communication and information exchange, but at the same time they opened the way for the emergence of new patterns of legal crimes committed behind smart devices, taking advantage of the speed of spread in the digital world. One of the most prominent of these crimes: fraud and electronic monument, Cursing and ejaculation, extortion and electronic exploitation, violation of privacy, spreading rumors, defamation and incitement, and electronic threat. In this regard, the principle of freedom of expression is from the constitutional rights guaranteed in the Kingdom of Bahrain, as the constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain stipulated in Article 23 that “freedom of opinion and scientific research is guaranteed and every human being has the right to express his opinion and publish it by saying, writing or others, according to the conditions and conditions that The law shows it without prejudice to the foundations of the Islamic faith and the unity of the people and in a manner that does not raise the division or sectarianism. Respecting the public order, not to prejudice the dignity of others, and not inciting hatred or sectarianism. Freedom of expression has limits and stands at the borders of others, as the misuse of social media loses its user the characteristic of freedom when it touches the lives of others, whether by insulting, insulting, or accusations, as what is published through Twitter, Instagram or any electronic platform is considered a “public statement” and is treated legally as if it was published in a newspaper or a newspaper. Strict penalties for the confrontation of crimes committed through social media that reach imprisonment and fine, in the Bahraini Penal Code and the Information Technology Crime Law No. 60 of 2014. There is no doubt that social media has become a necessity of daily life, and individuals gave an unprecedented space for expression, but at the same time it revealed the fragility of legal awareness among some users of social media. Legal, but also a gap in legal culture and individual responsibility, or because of the impulsive and excitement without realizing that electronic publishing, hurtful suspension or transit rumor is documenting and used as a criminal evidence, and the confusion between freedom of expression and the right to insult or defamation is what many people fall into criminal accountability, especially since some deal with electronic space as if it is a private space. Consciousness is practiced in daily life, and that we know new generations that freedom does not mean chaos, and that the word on the Internet has weight, value and sometimes a price.
