00:00Learn more about false reviews in establishment that invites penalties in the UAE.
00:07Companies or brands that offer services to the general public can often become the subject of negative reviews from their customers if their service has not been up to the mark.
00:17This is absolutely common, and people who are involved in this area of work know how to deal with such reviews from their clients.
00:23However, there may be instances where a person has just gone up and above with the review and really damaged the reputation of your business, when most of what he wrote was not even true.
00:33How do you deal with such a situation?
00:35Penal Code
00:36As per the UAE laws, this constitutes libel, which means damaging the reputation of a person by way of publishing untrue statements about him, i.e. defamation.
00:46The Federal Decree Law No. 31 of 2021, that is the UAE Penal Code, clearly states, under Article 425, that anyone who insults another person by way of the imputation of a fact publicly, thereby resulting in punishment or contempt towards that person, will be punished with either a jail sentence of about two years or a fine of almost 20,000 dirhams.
01:10This implies that if someone damages the reputation of you or your company by posting false negative reviews, whether on your company website or any social media platform, you can bring an action against that person on account of defamation.
01:23To prove defamation, you must be able to show that, because of the review posted by such a person against your services, you have suffered potential damage, such as being unable to get customers anymore, and your existing customers have also stopped receiving services from you, resulting in financial loss to your company, as well as mental distress to you.
01:44However, it must be kept in mind that the review made by such a person must be false.
01:49If there was a lack on your part, or you did not deliver according to the reasonable expectations of the client, the review will not amount to defamation.
01:57Cybercrime Law
01:58You can also sue such a person under Article 52 of Federal Decree Law No. 34 of 2021, the UAE Cybercrime Law.
02:06It states that anyone who publishes or circulates, through information technology methods, fake news or data, false or misleading reports, rumors, or provocative promotions, which
02:171. Arouse or provoke public opinion
02:202. Disturb public peace
02:223. Intimidate people
02:244. Harm public interest, national economy, public order, or health, shall be liable to detention of at least a year and a fine of minimum 100,000 dirhams.
02:35Publishing anything which may trigger unrest in the public is prohibited as per the UAE Cybercrime Law.
02:40When negative reviews are published on the Internet, they have the potential to reach a large number of people in a short span of time.
02:48Therefore, if negative opinions are circulated without their credibility being checked, it can result in a major loss to the one on the receiving end of the backlash.
02:57It is always better to keep track of the reviews you receive daily, so that any problem can be dealt with before an unpleasant scenario is created.
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