Jordan's restrictive cyber law goes to King Abdullah to sign

New Jordanian legislation that limits what people can say on social media is awaiting approval by King Abdullah after being vetted by the upper, consultative chamber of parliament this week.

The law was passed by the overwhelmingly pro-government House of Deputies last month.

It comes as the authorities intensify a crackdown on dissent in the aid-dependent country, which has a defence agreement with Washington. The United States spends millions of dollars a year in Jordan to promote independent media.

On July 26, a US State Department spokesman criticised the law as undermining freedom of expression in Jordan and possibly scaring off investors.

Nidal Mansour, head of the Centre for Defending Freedom of Journalists, in Amman, appealed to the king to turn down what he called an arbitrary law.

“It is full of too many freedom-depriving clauses, as well as the huge monetary fines,” Mr Mansour said.

The legislation proposes jail terms of between three months and three years for those who spread “false news” that “undermines national unity”.

Those found to have committed “character assassination” through the internet face no less than three months in jail and thousands of dollars in fines.

Internet users who “offend public morals” will receive at least nine months in jail.

The law also bans the use of virtual private networks, or VPNs, which help internet users to bypass local restrictions and maintain anonymity online.

The Vienna-based International Press Institute said the legislation contains a range of "ill-defined and overly broad" clauses that "can be abused by authorities to target journalists and critics".

It cited clauses referring to promotion of immorality, undermining national unity, stirring up strife and disrespect of religions as examples.

The group cited figures showing that Jordanian authorities have brought more than 2,000 cases against journalists, activists and dissidents in the past three years, as well as blocking sites such as Al Hudood, a Jordanian satirical publication in London that is styled after The Onion.

All significant power in Jordan lies with King Abdullah, who rarely turns down legislation from the loyalist legislature.

Prime Minister Bisher Al Khasawneh said last week that the law “does not touch or undermine the core" of freedoms mentioned in the constitution.

Jordan blocked TikTok in December over the video-sharing platform's “failure to deal with content inciting violence and calls for chaos”.