Kuwaiti tweeps unhappy with cybercrimes law vote

Kuwait's parliament voted in favour of a cybercrimes law in its first session of the voting. 

The law is a sensitive matter for many Kuwaitis who have condemned the blurred lines between genuine cyber protection and abuses of personal freedoms by the state.

In a press conference held after the voting session, one of the parliament members, Rakan al-Nisf, released a statement to Kuwait news saying that "cybercrimes should be perceived as a matter for the greater good of the nation, yet there should no breaching of personal freedoms".

Outside parliament many Kuwaits disagreed with the way the voting went. Kuwaitis tweeted their discontent using the hashtag #قانون_الجرائم_الالكترونية (#Cybercrimes_law).

@NasserAbuLL for instance, published the image of the sheet of paper with the names of the MPs and how they voted, tweeting: "No to cybercrimes law".

It shows that 28 MPs voted for the law, 8 voted against, and 2 abstained. 

Judging from the comments on Twitter, it would appear that there was a disconnect on the issue between parliament and the public.

@alkndreq8: The new cybercrime law can be summarised as you either cheer for the government, or remain quiet or go to jail.

One of the most shared tweets was a quote by MP Jamal al-Omar: "If the law is passed, three quarters of the Kuwaiti people will go to jail". The post was shared by blogger @AlziadiQ8.

It is worth mentioning that the cybercrimes law has a very broad reach and covers any crime involving a computer and the internet. If the law is applied by the book, then al-Omar might be right in his assertion.