Tunisia has replaced prison sentences with financial penalties for first-time offences involving the dissemination of false news and fabricated information under an amendment to the country’s cybercrime law.
The amendment to Decree 54 was published on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, in the Official Gazette of the Tunisian Republic, following a Cabinet meeting chaired by President Kais Saied the previous day.
Under the revised Article 24 of Decree 54, anyone who deliberately uses information and communication networks to produce, publish, distribute, transmit or prepare false news, data, rumours or fabricated and falsified documents, where the conduct is intended to infringe the rights of others, harm public security or national defence, or spread panic among the population, will face a fine of between 10,000 and 20,000 Tunisian dinars.
The same financial penalty applies to the deliberate dissemination of fabricated or falsified material, personal data or false allegations intended to defame another person, damage their reputation, cause material or moral harm, incite attacks against them or promote hate speech.
The amendment, however, retains a custodial sentence for repeat offenders. A person convicted of a subsequent offence under the provision may face six months’ imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 dinars.
The penalties are doubled where the person targeted is a public official or someone deemed equivalent under the law.
The revised provision replaces the previous punishment of up to five years’ imprisonment for the offences covered by Article 24.
Decree 54, enacted in 2022 to combat offences involving information and communication systems, has attracted criticism from rights organisations over concerns about its potential impact on freedom of expression. Reuters reported that critics have argued that the law has been used against journalists, activists and political opponents, while the Tunisian authorities have maintained that it is intended to address cybercrime and protect public order.
The amendment therefore represents a significant change to the penalties applicable to first-time convictions under Article 24, while maintaining harsher sanctions for repeat offences and cases involving public officials.
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