A review of Cybercrime Laws in Jordan and Freedom of Expression: At what point do
laws interfere with rights?
Eli Wallace
Department of Cybersecurity, Old Dominion University
CYSE210S
Professor Diwakar Yalpi
October 1, 2024

A review of Cybercrime Laws in Jordan and Freedom of Expression: At what point do laws interfere with rights?

Introduction

Cyber laws are made to stop criminals from taking advantage or improving their advantage in a technical sense. In this article it can be concluded that the study’s topic is on the laws being too extreme to the citizens and how the population has responded to it. The population has seemed to not take the laws lightly as it mentioned, “After receiving significant criticism from human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, as well as the general public  for  being  seen  as  restrictive  of  freedom  of  expression,  the  first  set  of  amendments  was  eventually withdrawn” (Jordan Times,  2023). The article also shines some light on Ethical Neutrality in the fact that when dealing with cyber laws being ethically neutral could be a problem. If no one was against the acts being implemented then the citizens rights would be slightly compromised.

The Research Methods

In the article, there were multiple studies done where they researched the Jordanian government and evaluated the results to see if they conflicted with basic rights of the citizens. These studies focused on proposed amendments and the possible interference that it could cause. The studies gathered a wide portfolio of legal text messages, scholarly articles, and proposed amendments. In this portfolio it had a lot of information but this is just a sample of the whole population. “The number of internet users in the Kingdom of Jordan increased from 11% of the population in 2005 to 27% in 2010 and to 84% in 2022” (Maghaireh, 2024). The small sample disapproved so what about the rest of the population. The results of these studies provide insight on how the government should continue with cyberlaw going forward. The data that was collected from the population of Jordan were all received legally so they could have an opposing argument against the unjust laws. The article also mentioned important information like how the people reacted to the acts. “After receiving significant criticism from human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, as well as the general public  for  being  seen  as  restrictive  of  freedom  of  expression,  the  first  set  of  amendments  was  eventually withdrawn” (Jordan Times,  2023).

Applying The Article

This article can be applied to many different aspects including previously acquired knowledge, concerns of groups, and society. This article can very easily be applied to society because it can make those in any country consider the cyber laws that are based in their country and how it affects them. If someone was unaware that they were doing something illegal they can look at the laws in their country. For example a common occurrence that people don’t realize is pirating movies. This can be a serious charge and companies can sue the thief who stole the content up to $500,000 or more. There was mention in the slideshow about a week ago that technology and psychology are connected. This can be correlated with the article because once these acts were initially implemented, tensions were higher in Jordan.

References Maghaireh, A. M. (n.d.). (2024) Cybercrime Laws in Jordan and Freedom of Expression :A  Critical Examination of the  Electronic  Crimes  Act 2023 Cybercrimejournal. https://cybercrimejournal.com/menuscript/index.php/cybercrimejournal/article/view/268/96