Not every legal risk in the UAE comes from a public post. Legal experts are raising the alarm that everyday activity inside private WhatsApp chats — forwarding news updates, screenshotting conversations, or tagging someone in a complaint — can expose residents to criminal liability under the country’s cybercrime laws.
According to Khaleej Times, the warnings come as enforcement has visibly intensified. In March, 25 people were arrested and faced expedited trials after publishing and circulating digital content that UAE Attorney General Hamad Al Shamsi described as misleading and designed to undermine national defence measures.
Dr. Hasan Elhais, legal consultant at Amal Al Rashedi Lawyers and Legal Consultants, said the misconception that private equals protected is one of the most dangerous assumptions residents make. “Private communications, including WhatsApp groups, have been the basis of successful prosecutions, reinforcing that ‘private’ does not mean ‘legally protected,'” he said. Fines under the UAE Cybercrime Law, he noted, frequently range between AED 250,000 and AED 500,000 or higher, and imprisonment is also a possible outcome.
The legal exposure extends well beyond whoever originally created a piece of content. Sam Moore, a lawyer at BSA Law, pointed to Article 52 of the Cybercrime Law, which explicitly covers anyone who “publishes, re-publishes, circulates or re-circulates” unlawful material. “A WhatsApp user who forwards a message, such as a news update, video, or comment, may be held liable if the content is false, misleading, defamatory, or otherwise unlawful,” he said.
Dr. Elhais confirmed that courts have applied the same logic consistently. “UAE courts have consistently treated the act of forwarding via WhatsApp, email, or social media as a new act of publication,” he said. “Individuals have faced criminal liability even where they were not the original author, particularly in cases involving defamation, false news, or privacy violations.” He added that evidence gathering in such cases tends to be straightforward — authorities rely on chat logs, screenshots, and metadata. “Courts have repeatedly emphasised that the absence of malicious intent does not automatically negate liability. The focus is often on the effect of dissemination rather than the subjective intention behind it.”
Moore outlined three behaviours that commonly trip up residents who believe they are acting innocuously: screenshotting or forwarding private conversations without the other party’s consent, circulating unverified claims on sensitive topics, and publicly naming or tagging individuals in ways that damage their reputation. “What many people often do not realise is that private chats and WhatsApp groups are not exempt from the laws of the UAE, and sharing content may lead to legal consequences,” he said. “Residents should therefore exercise caution and refrain from posting or forwarding content that may be misleading, offensive, or intrusive.”
Group administrators occupy a particular grey zone. Moore said that while the law stops short of requiring admins to actively monitor every message, Article 53 of the Cybercrime Law can still assign liability to those who allow unlawful content to remain in circulation after becoming aware of it. His practical advice: remove offending content promptly, warn or remove the member responsible, and avoid endorsing the material in any way.
For members — not just admins — Moore said the safest response to politically sensitive or provocative messages is complete disengagement. “By limiting interaction altogether, avoiding engaging with the message, refraining from forwarding it, deleting the message, and leaving the group if similar content is repeatedly circulated, residents are less likely to be exposed to liability under the Cybercrime Law,” he said.
