UAE court orders jail and deportation over unauthorised child video

A woman has been sentenced to one month in prison followed by deportation from the United Arab Emirates after posting a video of her five-year-old relative without parental permission. The reported judgment concerns the child's privacy and psychological safety, rather than treating an apparently light-hearted family moment as consent to public exposure.

The recording was made at a family gathering and showed the girl mispronouncing the name of a food. It was uploaded to a public Snapchat account and received more than 11,000 views. The child's father complained to authorities because he had not authorised the publication and was concerned about its effects on his daughter.

The woman admitted filming and posting the clip but denied intending to bully the child. The court found her responsible for publishing it and rejected the argument that a public account removed that responsibility. The charges were brought under the UAE's cybercrime and child-rights laws.

A lawyer commenting on the case distinguished permission to record from permission to publish. He said people who repost footage may also face liability depending on their involvement. Those comments should not be read as a finding against every person who saw or shared this particular clip.

The child is not identified here. The available report does not establish whether an appeal has been filed or whether the prison term and deportation have already been carried out.