There is also a tendency among some people to post on the Internet rumors along with mobile numbers of enemies or even friends. Considered by many, especially the youth, as a joke, the victims often look to remedy the problem through legal action.
In one recent case, a Saudi man in Riyadh began receiving calls from members of the public offering to help him as they had read that his son had been kidnapped. After receiving a number of telephone calls, the man found that the rumor had been spread by people possessing BlackBerry phones. There was a similar case in which a rumor spread about the death of a famous Saudi singer.
Sultan Al-Malki, spokesman for the Communication and Information Technology Commission (CITC), said the number of such cases is continuously increasing. “We continuously receive large numbers of complaints from people who receive nuisance SMS text messages and telephone calls. We can’t put a specific number on the complaints,” said Al-Malki.
“In such cases, we receive the complaints, transfer them to the police or the investigation authority who then follow procedures to verify the information. Our role is to deactivate the number of the person who initially sent the rumor out,” he added.
According to CITC laws, anyone who forwards people’s numbers with rumors risks jail for one year and a fine no more than SR500,000.
Khaled Abu-Rashid, vice president of the Paris-based International Justice Organization, said such behavior is a crime. “One who is responsible for this should be investigated and taken to court. Most of those who spread rumors via SMS and BlackBerries claim they were joking and that they don’t know about its illegality,” he added.
According to Abu-Rashid, ignorance about the law is not an excuse. “The criminal will receive the punishment regardless,” he said. “In such cases, investigators need to identify the person who sent the rumor out in the first place. This person will receive a jail sentence and lashes. The punishment will be according to the damage that the person has caused,” he added.
