The invoice would “pave the way for an alarming surge in online censorship”, stated a joint assertion by 14 non-governmental organisations, together with Human Rights Watch and digital civil rights group Access Now.
The assertion described the invoice as “draconian” and warned that it could “jeopardise digital rights, including freedom of expression and the right to information”.
They additionally stated it “will ultimately fail in achieving the Jordanian government’s stated goals of tackling ‘disinformation,’ ‘hate speech,’ and ‘online defamation’.”
The Jordanian authorities lately referred the draft invoice to parliament for dialogue with a view to amending a 2015 cybercrime legislation.
The amendments would toughen penalties for these seen to have dedicated cybercrimes together with spreading disinformation, with these discovered responsible doubtlessly dealing with jail time.
Discover the tales of your curiosity
The invoice should be permitted by the home of representatives adopted by the senate earlier than being ratified by King Abdullah II and revealed within the official gazette. The rights teams urged lawmakers to carry discussions with Jordanian civil society to “explore alternative, rights-respecting ways of addressing legitimate concerns around hate speech and disinformation”.
Dozens of journalists on Monday staged a protest in entrance of their union to voice their objection over the invoice.
On Sunday night a gaggle of Jordanian activists, journalists and political figures launched a web based marketing campaign rejecting the draft invoice and describing it as an “obituary for freedoms”.
Hundreds of politicians and journalists final week signed an announcement calling for the legislation to be scrapped, describing it because the “greatest threat to public and press freedoms”.
Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com