ABU DHABI // An Arab man has been charged over filming a family sleeping while on a boat trip and posting it on social media without their consent.
The accused was on the trip with the victim, his sons and their friends when he allegedly took photos of his friend’s car and shot a 15-second video of everyone sleeping before posting it on photo and video-sharing application Instagram.
Prosecutors are now calling for the man to be jailed and he will go on trial at Ruwais Criminal Court.
They say he confessed during investigations and pleaded guilty, though he said he posted the video for fun and did not think his friend would be angered by it.
He added that he had deleted the post from Instagram but the victim insisted on filing a complaint against him, The National's Arabic sister paper, Al Ittihad, reported.
An official from the Attorney General’s Office said Abu Dhabi’s Public Prosecution warns against underestimating the effects of posts on social media and said people should be conscious of maintaining other people’s privacy.
The official added that posting photos and videos without people’s consent is illegal and ignorance of the law does now absolve the perpetrator from being prosecuted.
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