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UAE expat deported for sharing Snapchat video of 5-year-old without parents’ consent
An expat working in the UAE has been sentenced to one month in prison, followed by deportation, for posting a video of a 5-year-old relative on Snapchat
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An expat working in the UAE has been sentenced to one month in prison, followed by deportation, for posting a video of a 5-year-old relative on Snapchat without her parents’ consent.
According to a Gulf News report, the Dubai-based woman posted a video on her public Snapchat that showed the five-year-old joking about a type of food. Footage of the girl mispronouncing the food’s name garnered over 11,000 views on Snapchat. It later spread to other social media platforms.
However, what started as an innocent video landed the Dubai expat in jail and later being deported to her own country. The report did not specify when this incident occurred and to which country the woman was deported.
Father objects to video
As per the Gulf News report, the girl’s father saw the video and objected to his daughter’s footage being shared online. He reported the incident to authorities, claiming he was worried about the impact it would have on his daughter’s privacy and psychological well-being.
Authorities investigated the incident and charged the woman with “publishing images or videos of a child through an information network without authorisation and exposing the minor to bullying or conduct that could affect her psychological safety.”
(Also read: Harwinder Kumar deported from UAE, arrested by NIA in Vikas Prabhakar murder case)
The charges were brought under two UAE laws:
- Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2021 on Combating Rumours and Cybercrimes, citing Articles 1, 44/3, 56 and 59.
- Federal Law No. 3 of 2016 on Child Rights, commonly known as Wadeema's Law, citing Articles 1/6, 36, 69, 70 and 71.
Dubai expat jailed, deported
The woman, who was not identified, admitted to posting the video online but said her intent was not to bully the five-year-old. She argued that her Snapchat profile was public and the video spread beyond her control after she shared it online.
The court said that police reports, supporting evidence and the woman’s own confession during questioning established that she had filmed and shared the video. It held that publishing a child’s image without the necessary permission could constitute a criminal offence, regardless of whether the person intended to cause harm.
The court also dismissed her argument that her public Snapchat profile absolved her of legal liability.
She was sentenced to one month in prison and will be deported from the UAE.
The incident has sparked a discussion on privacy in the digital age. Radha Stirling, CEO of the UK-based advocacy group Detained in Dubai, called the sentence too harsh.
“One month in prison and deportation for a relative sharing a harmless family video of a 5-year-old mispronouncing food on Snapchat? This sentence is extremely harsh and disproportionate. Privacy is important but surely this goes too far in the UAE,” Stirling wrote on X.
