Are you worried that your spouse might be cheating? Well, if you're in Saudi Arabia, don't even think about snooping through his or her phone to find out.
Saudi media reported this week that husbands or wives who spy on their spouse's mobile phones can face serious penalties under the kingdom's cybercrime laws. Punishments for the offense include imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year, and a fine of not more than 500,000 riyals ($133,000).
The penalty can be imposed on any individual who uses their spouse's phone without permission, legal sources said, according to Gulf Digital News. However, judges can use discretion to determine the severity of the crime.
If the snooping spouse does not use or share information obtained from the phone, the judge can simply warn against future invasions of privacy.
"Crimes related to information technology involve any devices such as computers, mobile phones and cameras, and is punishable according to the law," Legal Advisor Abdul Aziz bin Batel told Al Arabiya.
"The article specifies that the punishments target those who commit information crimes, namely tapping, intercepting or sharing through the internet, without a justification or for threatening or extortion," Batel explained.
According to legal experts, the cyber crime laws are "intended to help achieving information security, preserving the rights when using the internet, in addition to protecting public interest and morals."
Similar laws exist in the United Arab Emirates as well.
In 2016, an Arab expat woman >was fined and deported from the UAE after she checked her husband's phone without him knowing. The woman suspected that her husband was having an affair.
She checked her husband's phone, and then sent photos – which allegedly proved his infidelity – from his phone to hers via WhatsApp. The woman intended to use the photos as evidence against him, but they were instead used against her.