Journalists raise alarm as Jordan's cybercrime law threatens VPNs

Journalists in Jordan have raised the alarm on Wednesday after proposed cyber-crime legislation could put VPN users behind bars - or paying off massive fines - making independent reporting an 'impossible task'. 

VPNs - Virtual Private Networks - allow journalists to engage online without revealing sensitive data about their location and help encrypt any data they share. 

The bill is currently being discussed by the Jordanian parliament and has been accused of undermining speech online, threatening users’ privacy and increasing censorship by the authorities. 

Under the current proposals, anyone found using a VPN could find themselves facing up to six months in jail or paying a fine as high as $30,000 in Jordanian dinars. 

"I rely on a VPN daily to get around government blocks on WhatsApp and Signal voice calls to contact my sources across the Middle East," Amman-based journalist Taylor Luck told The New Arab. 

Journalists and citizens alike use VPNs as part of their daily lives to contact each other, share information and connect on social media. 

"A VPN is the only way to access Tik-Tok, which is one of the last spheres of expression and free speech among young Jordanians," said Luck. 

Many Jordanians also rely on VPNs to access content blocked by the Jordanian authorities on grounds of public decency. 

"If Jordan’s cybercrimes law is passed as is, the culture of self-censorship that is already embedded in local media will likely spread to Jordanians and foreigners working for international news outlets."

We have read the Cybercrime Draft Law, so you don't have to. Our verdict? It should be completely rejected.
Let's have a look at the articles that most affect Internet Freedom, explained in plain language: (1/8) pic.twitter.com/JTeocFx034

— Jordan Open Source Association (JOSA) (@jo_osa) July 22, 2023

Human Rights Watch and a coalition of digital rights groups have demanded that Jordanian authorities stop the proposals in their tracks.

They said that since Jordan's judicial system had lacked independence and had been frequently used to prosecute human rights defenders, activists, journalists, and political opponents, the law signals a "dark prospect" for Jordan's civic space in the coming years. 

The draft bill also introduces criminal charges for behaviours such as "online character assassination" or using the internet to "undermine national unity".

"As someone who has reported from Jordan for local and international publications for the last 16 years, I urge authorities to reconsider this law and its broad impacts not only on the media in Jordan but the ability of Jordanians’ views and perspectives to reach the rest of the world," said Luck.