

However, people should be aware that these activities are unlawful. “Some of them also think that it is a means to please their followers, and that has become a phenomenon on social media. Hasan Faleh Al-Nahsi, a Saudi social media influencer, said that some social media users make pranks to collect as many followers as they can. The TV shows are subject to the regulations of the General Commission for Audiovisual Media while the violations posted on social media platforms are subject to the Anti-Cyber Crime Law,” he said. Speaking about the difference from a legal perspective between the pranks that some people post on social media and what we see on television, Garoubs said that pranks on social media are different from those on TV as the latter present comedy shows. He added that investigators and judges also consider the age of the violator and apply the punishments and imprisonment decisions to match their age and their illegal acts. There are special courts, youth detention centers for the offenders who are still underage,” he said. “The authorities require them to appear for investigation through a certain mechanism that takes into consideration their age and the presence of their guardians.


Garoub justified his point of view by saying that the first violator might have committed the content under the influence of certain emotional factors or be unaware of its negative effect, but the one who retweets or reposts it should have watched the content, reaffirming his belief in the content.Īs for juvenile violators, Garoub said that young people are treated differently. However, he said that legal punishment takes the circumstances of every violation into consideration. Giving his personal opinion, the lawyer believes that anyone who reposts, likes or retweets a violating content should be penalized with the maximum punishment.

It is also considered a crime if someone reposts, likes or retweets a prank,” Garoub said. We now have a law that criminalizes these activities and considers them as offensive. He added that posting pranks on social media is a violation even if it is a prank that has consent.
