Cabinet Reshuffle on Social Media: Criticism of Public Figures Does Not Mean Violating Privacy

AKEED, Aya Khawaldeh

News about the recent reshuffle of the Cabinet of Dr. Hani Mulki has dominated social media in recent days. However, the noticeable thing was the phenomenon of invasion of privacy, which has been recurring against newly appointed public figures, and sometimes spreading rumors and erroneous information. This could even reach the extent of character assassination unjustifiably based on personal positions or private agendas, considering this to be part of the right to criticism and holding officials accountable. This is what happened to the newly appointed Education Minister Omar Razzaz after he was selected in the recent Cabinet reshuffle. Many users of these sites published pictures of the minister with his family members, obtained from his personal page on Facebook, and circulated them, along with hurtful and offensive comments, besides publishing content from fake pages.

The attack on Razzaz assumed numerous dimensions against the background of previous positions supporting the amendment of school curricula. Users of social media sites compared his private family pictures with his role in education. They also ridiculed a photo they circulated of a post attributed to his Facebook page, which contained Arabic spelling mistakes and typo errors. The post turned out to be a fake page; Razzaz had nothing to do with it.

Offending public figures is not new. Social media and electronic sites had previously invaded the private life of Majd Shweikeh, minister of information and communications technology, by publishing private pictures of the minister with her family members on a family occasion before assuming her post. The AKEED Monitor discussed these violations in a special report at the time.

For social media users, the situation is still unclear when it comes to making a distinction between the right to criticize a public figure and violating privacy and private life of families. Legitimate criticism guarantees that political figures may not have greater protection than ordinary citizens and that harsh criticism of political figures is justified within the boundaries of public interest. Besides, criticizing public figures and politicians is allowable, no matter how harsh, if it is within the domain of public performance, and not on the personal level.

On this issue, Khalid Al Ahmad, who is specialized in social media, told AKEED that circulating private pictures of Minister Razzaz was ethically wrong. However, technically, there is no violation of privacy since their owner chose to make them available to the public, and not to family and friends.

It is worth noting that the abuse that Minister Razzaz suffered was mainly in the comments posted by social media users on the published photos on the minister"s page. These were ordinary pictures posted long time ago.

Al Ahmad added: "Many officials all over the world shut down all social platforms upon assuming political positions to avoid such issues. A public figure like Razzaz was supposed to protect the private content he posts and to make a distinction between the platforms he uses for addressing the public and what affects his private life."

Al Ahmad highlighted a mistake that many social media users commit as they think that as soon as a person assumes a political position, everybody is entitled to tarnish his reputation and violate his right to private life. According to Al Ahmad, Razzaz is entitled to file a civil lawsuit against any person who slandered him.

On the fact that some activists control virtual public opinion and can make it shift in certain directions to satisfy their interests and ideological trends, Al Ahmad said: "Social media platforms allow for mobilizing public opinion. However, just as there is a certain conviction and way of thinking, the opposite way of thinking exists. Social media provides large space that allows both to exist."

According to Al Ahmad, "officials in the state should document their accounts with the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology and should approach social platforms with caution. They must be careful to amend privacy settings when publishing anything related to private life." He added: "The government should also benefit from this public space by interacting with the people and mitigating the effects of the impressions that they have about the government."

Mohammed Taqatqeh, who is specialized in issues of intellectual property and cybercrime, told AKEED that publishing the picture of Razzaz by social media users was a violation of many laws. This picture is private and exists on his personal page and they do not have the right to publish and circulate it without his permission. Razzaz did not post it on his page for public usage, even if its protection is general. Thus, they have committed copyright infringement.  

Also, commenting on it, according to Taqatqeh, is another violation. A person who thinks that he has the right to hold another accountable and to judge individuals must criticize them and hold them accountable before the judiciary, and not criticize them through invading their private life and offending their family members. He noted the increase in such violations on social media sites, which are supposed to be a bridge for social communication, and not an easy field for libel and abuse. 

In an interview with AKEED, Ziad Maraqah, a lawyer specialized in cybercrime, spoke about the differences between the old Information Systems Law and the modern Cybercrime Law in regard to these crimes. The new law incriminates actions such as expressions of libel and contempt through the World Wide Web or electronic sites or any other information system. Penalties have been made stiffer, increasing prison terms and fines. Article 11 of the law stipulates that "any person who intentionally sends, re-sends, or publishes statements or information through the World Wide Web, electronic sites, or any information system containing libel or contempt of another person shall be penalized by imprisonment for a term of not less than three months and a fine of not less than 100 dinars and not more than 2,000 dinars."

The Amman Court of First Instance has set five conditions for the right of legitimate criticism in the media. These are as follows: Criticism must be in response to a confirmed incident, which is known to the public; criticism must be relevant to the confirmed incident and confined to it; the incident that is the subject of criticism must be important to society; the critic must use appropriate expressions in judging or commenting on the incident; and the critic must have good intentions.

Article 48 of the Civil Code considers a photograph to be a personality right. It states that "any person who is subjected to an unlawful attack concerning any of his personality rights shall be entitled to demand stopping this attack, along with claiming compensation for any harm that he might have suffered."

Article 348 of the Jordanian Penal Code stipulates that "any person who violates the private life of others, by listening in or peeping, by any means, including audio recording, taking pictures, or using binoculars, shall be penalized, based on a complaint by the affected party, by a prison term that does not exceed three months. The penalty shall be doubled in the event of a repeat."  

As for the Press and Publications Law, Article 4 stipulates that "the press shall carry out its mission freely by presenting news, information, and comments and shall contribute to the dissemination of ideas, culture, and sciences within the bounds of the law and the framework of maintaining public freedoms, rights, and duties and respecting the freedom and inviolability of the private life of others."

Article 7 of the Press and Publications Law further stipulates that "the ethics of the profession of journalism and its credibility shall be binding on journalists and shall include respect for the public freedoms of others, maintaining their rights, and not violating the sanctity of their private life."  

Article 11 of the Press Code of Honor stipulates that "journalists shall be committed to respecting the reputation of households, families, and individuals and the confidentiality of matters pertaining to citizens in line with international principles, the ethics of journalistic work, and the laws in effect in the Kingdom."