"Jordan's King Enacts Controversial Online Speech Law Amidst Human Rights Backlash"

The King of Jordan has approved a bill that criminalizes online speech deemed harmful to national unity, drawing criticism from human rights groups who view it as a crackdown on free expression. The law imposes prison time and fines for posts promoting immorality, contempt for religion, or undermining national unity, as well as publishing names or pictures of police officers online and certain methods of maintaining online anonymity. Human rights groups argue that the law expands state control over social media, restricts access to information, and penalizes anti-government speech. This is part of a series of crackdowns on freedom of expression in Jordan, according to a report by Human Rights Watch.