Phone confiscated and video removed as Abu Dhabi court takes action against defamatory posts.
Abu Dhabi: As part of its continued efforts to strengthen legal awareness and promote public understanding of the law, the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department has launched a story-based awareness video titled “A Brief Video… A Costly Price” under its “Stories and Lessons” series.
The initiative aims to enhance legal and community awareness by showcasing the consequences of everyday actions through real-life-inspired stories.
In an era dominated by digital platforms, some people mistakenly assume that sharing online content is simply an expression of personal freedom. However, the law draws a clear distinction between constructive criticism intended to encourage improvement and defamatory statements that damage a business’s reputation.
The incident began when a social media influencer used her smartphone camera to target a well-known restaurant—not to review its food or services, but to publish comments that accused the owner and management of wrongdoing and harmed the establishment’s reputation.
The restaurant owner, faced with what he considered a digital attack on his personal and professional reputation, took legal action by filing an official complaint with the relevant authorities. He argued that the video went beyond the boundaries of legitimate criticism and caused significant moral and financial harm to the reputation he had built over the years.
After being summoned and presented with the recorded material, the defendant acknowledged during the initial inquiry and Public Prosecution investigations that she had filmed the premises and shared the video through her personal account. She described her actions as “criticism”; however, investigators found that the remarks went beyond an objective review and amounted to direct abuse under laws governing insult and defamation through electronic means, as they targeted individuals and their reputation rather than the quality of the services provided.
Following the trial, the court fined the defendant Dh30,000. It also ordered the removal of the defamatory video and the confiscation of the mobile phone used to record and publish the content.
In addition to the criminal penalty, the court directed the defendant to pay Dh51,000 in temporary civil compensation to the complainant. As a result, the total financial penalty reached Dh81,000, underscoring the legal consequences of publishing defamatory content online and reinforcing that freedom of expression does not extend to harming the reputation of others.
