Legal Aspects of the Right to Freedom of Opinion in View of Jordan’s 2023 Cybercrime Law

Hamzah Suleiman Aldoghmi1*

https://doi.org/10.62271/pjc.16.4.55.66

Abstract
This study highlights the legal aspects of the right to freedom of opinion in Jordan after the issuance of Jordan’s Cybercrime Law No. 17 of 2023. First, it discusses the concept of freedom of opinion in theory. Second, it highlights the protection of human rights and its impact on States. Third, it shows how States might limit the protection of freedom of opinion by criminalising cyber activities. This study relies on descriptive and analytical approaches to describe freedom of opinion and analyse its legal basis in accordance with national and international legal rules. It uses a case study of Jordan by analysing the Jordanian Cybercrime
Law and its impact on the right to freedom of opinion. This study argues that Jordan’s 2023 Cybercrime Law imposes stricter penalties on perpetrators of acts classified as cybercrime, exceeds the general rules in the penal code, and expands the scope of crimes related to freedom of opinion. The study produces several recommendations, the most important of which is that restrictions on the freedom of cyber activities in Jordan must comply with international obligations and that there is a need to amend the Cybercrime Law to conform to these obligations.

Keywords: International human rights law, the right to freedom of opinion, Cybercrime law, Jordan.