Spreading rumors of fake crimes on social media a punishable crime by Egyptian law

CAIRO – 29 June 2022: Rumors have become a danger to society as its spread on social media has increased, especially crimes like kidnapping are reportedly faked on different platforms.

The rumor is one of the crimes that threaten the security of the world, as many countries take decisive measures to confront it. The rumor is known to be the rapid spread or dissemination of purposeful news whose source is unknown, and its characterized by ambiguity.

According to two laws, Article 77 - Article 77 d of the Egyptian Penal Code includes a chapter on crimes harmful to the national security of the state, where it contains a complete statement about rumors, the harm inflicted on the society due to these rumors and penalties on its perpetrators.

Article 77 of the Egyptian Penal Code states: “Anyone who willfully commits an act that leads to compromising the country’s independence, unity, or territorial integrity is punishable by death capital.” Article 77 d: “He shall be punished with imprisonment if the crime is committed in peacetime.”

Article 78 states: “Anyone who requests for himself or for another or accepts or takes, even through an intermediary, from a foreign country or from those who work for its benefit, money or any other benefit or a promise of something of that with the intent of committing an act harmful to the national interest shall be punished with temporary hard labor and a fine of no less than one thousand pounds. The fine shall not exceed what was given or promised, and the penalty shall be life imprisonment with hard labor.

Anyone who gives, offers, or promises anything of the above with the intent of committing an act harmful to a national interest shall be punished with the same penalty, and whoever mediates in the commission of one of the previous crimes shall also be punished with the same penalty.