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license or, more broadly, for violating Jordanian law. In addition to facing blocking, unlicensed
websites also face a potential fine of JOD 1,000–5,000 ($1,500–7,500) according to Article 48(B).
The law also requires that editors-in-chief of online outlets must have been prior members of the
Jordan Press Association (JPA) for a period of at least four years. The Director of the DPP
estimated that Jordan contains some 400 news websites.
27
Jordan does not have a history of extensive web filtering and, for a number of years, the only
blocked website was the U.S.-based Arab Times, which often takes a critical tone toward Arab
regimes.
28
In the past, however, authorities have attempted to introduce greater restrictions. In
2008, authorities blocked access to about 600 websites on internal government networks, claiming
such measures were necessary to prevent public service employees from wasting time online. The
inclusion of key Jordanian news websites among those blocked raised concerns that the purpose was
also to limit government employees’ access to independent information.
29
Marouf al-Bakhit, the
prime minister at the time, reversed this policy in 2011. More recently, rumors resurfaced that the
MoICT was seeking to block access to pornographic sites. On numerous occasions, internet
freedom activists have criticized reports that the ministry has instructed ISPs to block explicit
content.
30
On the other hand, some groups have staged small protests and even launched a
Facebook campaign to push the MoICT to block pornography sites, most recently in July 2012.
31
According to one official, authorities may instead insist that ISPs offer a voluntary service to block
these sites for subscribers.
32
In a more subtle censorship dynamic, website owners have occasionally acted to remove online
content after receiving informal complaints from government officials, members of the security
services, party leaders, lawmakers, journalists, and even ordinary users. Websites that have refused
such requests have faced reprisals. For example, in February 2011, one of the country’s most
popular news websites, Ammon News, was hacked and temporarily disabled after its editors refused
to comply with security agents’ demands to remove a statement by 36 prominent Jordanian
tribesmen, in which they called for democratic and economic reforms. Among other actions, the
hackers deleted the joint statement, which represented a politically-sensitive development given
such groups’ historic support for the monarchy.
33
In another incident from March 2012, the
Jordanian Royal Court pressured the website of the al-Arab al-Yawm newspaper to delete an article
27
BBC Arabic (2013, June) The Blocking of 290 websites in Jordan. Accessed June 26, 2013.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/arabic/middleeast/2013/06/130603_jordan_electronic_sites_closed.shtml. AlBawaba.Com (2013, June
5) Jordan: Lifting up the Block only on a few websites. accessed June 26, 2013.
28
A test by Freedom House in February 2012 confirmed that the website remains inaccessible. See also, “Jordan,” OpenNet
Initiative, August 6, 2009, http://opennet.net/research/profiles/jordan.
29
Arab Archives Institute, “Fear of Freedoms: King Insists on Freedoms, Government Resists,” news release, December 6, 2008,
http://www.ifex.org/jordan/2008/12/09/capsule_report_despite_advances/; “Public Employees Wasting Time on the
Internet,” The Jordan Times, August 5, 2010, http://www.jordantimes.com/index.php?news=28938.
30
“Internet freedom activists slam ministry’s call to block porn sites,” Ammon News, August 1, 2012,
http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleno=17418#.UdsThPm1EwA.
31
“Protest calls on Gov’t to block Porno sites,” Ammon News, July 16, 2012,
http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleno=17418#.UdsThPm1EwA.
32
Majed Al Dabbas, “Govt will not block porn sites,” Ammon News, April 27, 2013,
http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleno=20775#.UdsS7Pm1EwA.
33
“In Jordan, website hacked after running sensitive statement,” Committee to Protect Journalists, February 9, 2011,
http://cpj.org/2011/02/in‐jordan‐website‐hacked‐after‐running‐sensitive‐s.php.
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titled, “We will not live in a stupid man’s robe,” which criticized the government’s handling of
corruption and protests in the city of al-Tafila.
34
In other cases, news websites that tackle sensitive
issues must deal with waves of angry comments from conservative readers.
The 2012 amendments of the PPL treat readers’ comments under the same restrictions as normal
news content. Clause 3 of Article 49 states that both the editors-in-chief and owners of online
publications are legally responsible for all content posted to the site, including user comments.
35
Moreover, websites must keep a record of all comments for six months after initial publication and
refrain from publishing any “untruthful” or “irrelevant” comments.
36
Journalists in Jordan stated
that the new changes in the law aim at increasing self-censorship and instigating fear among
journalists.
37
The amended law also affects the financial viability of online news websites. The amended PPL
prohibits foreign investment in newspapers, a provision that could now apply to online news
outlets as well. Meanwhile, in mid-2012, unconfirmed reports emerged of government agencies
pressuring advertisers to avoid certain news websites in an effort to limit the sites’ income.
38
There
have also been some initial reports of security or government officials offering encouragement—
and possibly material support—to journalists to establish news websites favorable to the
government that would compete with the increasingly influential, and often critical, existing online
outlets.
39
The threat presented by restrictive laws and financial penalties in the PPL, combined with an
awareness of extensive content monitoring, has a chilling effect on online speech. Bloggers and
news website owners often complain about their inability to post news freely due to monitoring.
Many practice self-censorship and rarely cross the standard red lines, particularly concerning
material that could be perceived as harmful to national security, national unity, the country’s
economy, or the royal family. Traditional journalists often start their own blogs in order to be free
from editorial censorship. Since 2011, blogs have regained their importance as an avenue for debate
on political and social issues. A growing number of blogs are also written in Arabic, a shift from
several years ago when most were in English or bilingual.
Nonetheless, the country’s hundreds of news websites are an increasingly important source of
information and analysis for many Jordanians. Many feel that online sources discuss a wide range of
34
International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), “Royal Court orders newspaper to remove critical article from website,”
news release, March 26, 2012, http://www.ifex.org/jordan/2012/03/26/article_censored/.
35
Law number (32) 2012. Amendments to The Press and Publications law for the Year 1998 (8).
36
Law number (32) 2012. Amendments to The Press and Publications law for the Year 1998 (8).
37
Tarawnah, Naseem “Jordan Internet Goes Dark” Foreign Policy. August 31, 2012.
http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/08/31/jordans_internet_goes_dark. Accessed April 30, 2013. And Sweis, Rana
“Jordan Limits Protests, and Internet as Tensions Simmer” New York Times. September 19, 2012.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/world/middleeast/jordan‐limits‐protests‐and‐internet‐as‐tensions‐
simmer.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&. Accessed April 30, 2013.
38
“Campaign on websites and the government refuses to license” [in Arabic], Allofjo, May 30, 2012,
http://www.allofjo.net/index.php?page=article&id=29643.
39
“Liberal Press: government seeks to break the power forward positions” [in Arabic], JO24, May 29, 2012,
http://www.jo24.net/index.php?page=article&id=5179.
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topics typically avoided by traditional media outlets. A study released by the market research firm
Ipsos in March 2012 found that around 70 percent of internet users accessed news websites, making
it the most popular area of online interest, surpassing music and sports.
40
Seven news websites—
Jfranews, Garaanews, Sarayanews, Tasweernews, Alwakeelnews Sameerbook, and Khaberni—were among
the top 20 most visited websites in the country in mid-2013, up from only three news sites in
March 2012.
41
Web 2.0 applications such as Facebook, the micro-blogging service Twitter, and the video-sharing
site YouTube are very popular, particularly among younger Jordanians. There are over two million
Facebook users in Jordan, representing over one-third of the country’s population.
42
Twitter has
garnered a much smaller following of around 60,000 users.
43
Several local social media tools, such
as the Jordanian microblogging site WatWet, have shutdown in recent years over an inability to
compete.
44
Several state officials, including Queen Rania and the Minister of Information, have
established Facebook and Twitter accounts to communicate with the public.
These online tools, in addition to news websites, have played an important role in mobilizing public
protests to oppose restrictions on free expression, to call for broader political reforms, and to
protest government policies. Over 500 websites went offline on August 29, 2012 in a coordinated
protest to the changes in the PPL.
45
The home pages to these sites displayed a black screen with text
reading, “You may be deprived of the content of this site under the amendments of the Jordanian
Press and Publications Law and the governmental internet censorship."
46
Facebook played a
particularly important role in 2012, when activists used it to mobilize against a rise in fuel prices in
November of that year. The Habbet Teshreen (“November Demonstration”) hashtag was trending for
almost a week on Twitter. Demonstrations have continued throughout the year, with online media
playing a central role in keeping the public informed of recent events. Social media has also been
critical in documenting attacks against demonstrators by police, darak (special riot police known as
“riders”), government loyalists, and other actors.
40
“News websites most popular destination for Jordanian Internet Users,” Zawya.com, accessed September 18, 2012,
http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20120323115500/News_websites_most_popular_destination_for_Jordanian_Inte
rnet_users (subscription required).
41
“Top Sites in Jordan,” Alexa Web Information Company, accessed July 8, 2013 and March 27, 2012,
http://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/JO.
42
“Jordan Facebook Statistics,” Social Bakers, accessed March 28, 2012, http://www.socialbakers.com/facebook‐
statistics/jordan.
43
Salem, Fadi., & Murtada, Racha (2012, July) Arab Social Media Report. Vol.2, No.1. Dubai School of Government. Dubai, UAE.
Pp.10,12,15, Accessed June 26, 2013. http://www.dsg.ae/en/Publication/Pdf_En/826201211212209347849.pdf.
44
“On Shutting Down WatWet,” Tootcorp.com, July 2011, http://tootcorp.com/2011/07/on‐shutting‐down‐watwet/ (site
discontinued).
45
Ruth Michaelson, “Jordan blocks over 200 ‘unlicensed’ websites,” Index on Censorship, June 3, 2013,
http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2013/06/jordan‐blocks‐over‐200‐unlicensed‐websites/.
46
7oryanet.com “Ammendemnts to the Press and Publications Law,” September 20, 2012. http://7oryanet.com/, accessed
April 30, 2013.
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While the country appears on a trend toward greater restrictions of online content, prosecutions
and extralegal attacks on web users have decreased in severity over the past year. Nonetheless,
strict penalties for criminal defamation against public authorities remain a concern. Amendments to
the press law, discussed in detail above, also restrict internet freedom through the mandatory
registration of news websites and their staff.
In October 2011, responding to public discontent, constitutional amendments were introduced to
strengthen checks and balances and ensure greater protections for human rights.
47
The measures
resulted in the creation of a constitutional court (Article 58-61), an explicit prohibition on torture
(Article 8), and the restriction of the State Security Court’s jurisdiction to crimes of treason,
espionage, and terrorism (Article 110).
48
The Constitutional Court’s nine members were named by
King Abdullah II in October 2012.
49
Earlier that year, the king issued two royal decrees completing
the necessary processes for the Constitutional Court and the Political Parties Laws to be enacted.
50
Several amendments touched directly or indirectly on internet freedom. Specifically, terms such as
“mass media” and “other means of communication,” which likely encompass online media, were
added to provisions that protect freedom of expression and concomitantly allow for its limitation
during states of emergency (Article 15). With regard to the right to privacy, judicial approval was
added as a precondition for censorship or confiscation of private communications (Article 18).
51
Despite constitutional protections, several laws that hinder freedom of expression and access to
information remain on the books. These include the 1959 Contempt of Court Law, the 1960 penal
code, the 1971 Protection of State Secrets and Classified Documents Law, the 1992 Defense Law,
the 1998 Jordan Press Association Law, and the 1999 Press and Publications Law. Despite the
passage of an Access to Information Law in 2007, a number of restrictions remain on requesting
socially- and religiously-sensitive content.
52
In September 2011, the lower house of parliament
passed an amendment to the country’s Anti-Corruption Law, which would have penalized the
publication or dissemination of allegations of corruption without proof with fines ranging from
47
Law Library of Congress (2012, December 3) Jordan: Constitutional Law Court Newly Established in Jordan. Accessed June 26,
2013. http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403416_text
48
Ali al‐Rawashdah, “Jordan approves constitutional amendments,” Al‐Shorfa, October 5, 2011, http://al‐
shorfa.com/cocoon/meii/xhtml/en_GB/features/meii/features/main/2011/10/05/feature‐01.
49
Daily Star (2012, October 7) Jordan’s King Abdulla Sets up a Constitutional Court. Accessed June 26, 2013.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle‐East/2012/Oct‐07/190450‐jordans‐king‐abdullah‐sets‐up‐constitutional‐
court.ashx#axzz2XGFGrzWz
50
King Abdulla II website (2013, June 6) Jordan Enacts New Political Parties, Constitutional Court Laws. accessed June 26, 2013.
http://www.kingabdullah.jo/index.php/en_US/news/view/id/10139/videoDisplay/1.html.
51
Constitution of Jordan, 1952, http://www.mpil.de/shared/data/pdf/overview_amendments.pdf; “Jordan,” Max Planck
Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, last updated May 4, 2012,
http://www.mpil.de/ww/en/pub/research/details/know_transfer/constitutional_reform_in_arab_/jordanien.cfm.
52
For example, the law bars public requests for information involving religious, racial, ethnic, or gender discrimination (Article
10), and allows officials to withhold all types of classified information, a very broad category (Article 13) Arab Archives Institute,
“Summary of the Study on Access to Information Law in Jordan,” June 2005,
http://www.alarcheef.com/reports/englishFiles/accessToInformation.pdf.
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JOD 30,000 to JOD 60,000 ($42,000 to $84,000).
53
However, in January 2012, the upper house
of parliament rejected the controversial article following advocacy efforts by civil society groups
and threats by the board of the Jordan Press Association to resign.
54
The 2010 cybercrime law proscribes penalties for hacking and online identity theft, though it also
contains several provisions that could be easily used to suppress online expression. For example,
the new law prohibits posting any information concerning national security, foreign affairs, the
national economy, and public safety that is not already available to the general public. Nevertheless,
following protests by civil society, several more egregious provisions related to defamation and
warrantless police searches were removed by royal decree in September 2010, one month after the
law was passed.
55
Defamation remains a criminal offense under the penal code. Amendments to the press law enacted
in 2010 abolished prison sentences for libeling private citizens. However, the same bill increased
fines and jail sentences for defaming government officials to up to JOD 10,000 ($14,000) and three
to twelve months imprisonment.
56
On April 25, 2013, Mohammad Asha al-Dawaymeh, a
parliamentarian from the Islamist Centrist Party, filed a suit against the website Ammon News for
publishing news about a visit to Israel he made earlier this year.
57
He was later expelled from his
political party over the visit, during which he reportedly attended a reception with Israeli President
Shimon Peres to celebrate Israel’s Independence Day.
58
For the most part, Jordanian authorities have not made use of these laws to severely punish
domestic political opponents, though some online commentators have faced legal harassment.
59
In
the past, several online journalists were brought before the military-dominated State Security
Court (SSC) on charges related to their writings. In July 2011, Jordanian journalist Alaa’ Fazzaa’
was arrested for “working to change the constitution by unlawful means” after he reported about a
Facebook group supporting reinstatement of Prince Hamza, King Abdullah’s half-brother, as crown
53
Yahya Shakir, “Article 23 of the Anti‐Corruption Law aimed at burying the opposing views in the bud” [in Arabic],
Alarabalyawm, http://alarabalyawm.batelco.jo/pages.php?articles_id=17077;
54
“Jordan journalists protest anti‐corruption bill,” Khaleej Times, September 28, 2011,
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/darticlen.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/September/middleeast_September568.xml§ion=
middleeast; Wael Jaraysheh, “Senate Returns Controversial Anti‐Corruption Law, Dodging Deliberations Again,” Ammon News,
December 8, 2011, http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleNO=14876; “Jordanian Senate Rejects Article 23 of the Anti‐
Corruption Law,” SKeyes News, January 16, 2012, http://www.skeyesmedia.org/en/News/Jordan/Jordanian‐Senate‐Rejects‐
Article‐23‐of‐the‐Anti‐Corruption‐Law.
55
International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), “Government yields to protests, modifies cyber crimes law,” news
release, September 3, 2010, http://ifex.org/jordan/2010/09/03/cyber_crimes_law/; Official Website of the Prime Ministry of
the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan [in Arabic],
http://www.pm.gov.jo/arabic/index.php?page_type=gov_paper&part=3&id=5056.
56
IREX, “Introduction to News Media Law and Policy in Jordan,” May 2011, pg 38,
http://www.irex.org/sites/default/files/Media%20Law%20and%20Policy%20Primer%20(English).pdf.
57
Saraha News (2013, April 26) After heis secret was revealed by Ammon News AlAsha goes to defame the website. accessed
June 26, 2013 http://www.sarahanews.com/?p=33472
58
“Jordanian MP expelled for Israel visit,” UPI, April 22, 2013, http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World‐
News/2013/04/22/Jordanian‐MP‐expelled‐for‐Israel‐visit/UPI‐45941366623316/.
59
Oula Farawati, “Jordan’s News Websites Running for Legal Cover,” Menassat, March 11, 2009,
http://www.menassat.com/?q=ar/comment/reply/6143.
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