Online safety & content laws in Jordan (2026)

Enacted in the Official Gazette on 13 August 2023 and in force from 13 September 2023, this 41-article law replaced the 2015 Cybercrime Law. It criminalises unauthorised access, phishing, fake-account creation, and vaguely defined speech offences including 'spreading fake news', 'provoking strife', and 'contempt for religions', with penalties up to imprisonment.

Article 25 of the 2023 law makes platform administrators jointly liable for illegal content posted by users. Platforms with more than 100,000 subscribers in Jordan must establish a local office; non-compliant platforms face bandwidth throttling and access restrictions.

Press and Publications Law No. 8 of 1998 defines online news sites as 'electronic publications' subject to licensing by the Media Commission. A 2017 bylaw set licensing fees; unlicensed or non-compliant outlets are subject to blocking orders.

Authorities blocked at least 12 online news outlets in May 2025, including Middle East Eye and Raseef22, citing 'media poison' and threats to national symbols. The TRC and courts routinely order ISPs to block non-compliant or critical outlets; platforms are also pressured to remove content.

One year after the 2023 law's enactment, Amnesty International documented its systematic use against journalists and activists for online speech. In January 2025, activist Ayman Sandouqa was sentenced to five years' imprisonment for a social media post; communications platforms were suspended during national school exams.

Jordan has no standalone child online-safety or age-verification law comparable to the EU DSA or UK Online Safety Act. Child-protection provisions are handled incidentally through the Cybercrime Law (e.g., criminalising child sexual abuse material) and general media licensing rules, with no systematic platform duty-of-care regime.