WhatsApp Messages and Fake Google Reviews: UAE Legal Risks

Every few weeks a client forwards me a video: "In the UAE you can be fined AED 250,000 for one WhatsApp message." Then they ask whether they can still leave a bad review for a contractor who ruined their kitchen. The short answer: yes, you can be honest. The longer answer is that the UAE treats online speech that damages someone's reputation more seriously than many countries do, and it helps to understand where the lines are.

The October 2026 Dubai case

On 12 October 2026, Dubai Police said they had arrested a group suspected of a coordinated campaign of fake negative reviews on a company's Google Maps page. According to the police, the case started with a complaint from the company's management, and investigators found that certain shops had formed groups to post false comments intended to damage its reputation and cause it financial loss.

No fine or sentence was reported. An arrest is not a conviction, and I would not guess the outcome. What the case shows is that coordinated, deliberately false reviews are something the police will investigate.

Four things that are legally very different

An honest, factual review. "The handover was three months late and the AC leaked in the first week" — specific, true, about your own experience. This is what review platforms are for.

Defamation. A false statement of fact that damages someone's reputation: "This company steals deposits," when it does not. Truth and evidence matter enormously here.

Insults and abuse. Swearing, humiliating language, or attacks on someone's character, religion or family. In the UAE these can be an offence even when no false fact is involved — including in a private WhatsApp chat, if the recipient complains.

Threats and coordinated campaigns. Threatening messages, or organising people to post reviews about a business they never used, move into clearly criminal territory.

What the law says about penalties — and what it does not

The main federal law is Decree-Law No. 34 of 2021 on Combatting Rumours and Cybercrimes. Several of its articles provide for imprisonment and/or fines, and for some offences the fines run into hundreds of thousands of dirhams.

Those are ranges and maximums written into the law. They are not an automatic price tag for any rude message. What happens in a real case depends on the facts, whether a complaint is filed, whether it is withdrawn, the evidence and the court. Viral stories that quote one specific fine usually leave out the circumstances, the date and the court that decided it. Without those, I would not treat them as precedent.

Practical rules for messages and reviews

• Describe, do not label. Write what happened and when. Avoid words like "fraud", "thief" or "scammer" unless a court has said so.
• Stick to your own experience. Do not repeat what "everyone says" about a business.
• Keep evidence. Contracts, receipts, photos and dates. If a review is ever challenged, this is what protects you.
• No insults, even in private chats. Screenshots travel. Angry voice notes are evidence.
• Never post on behalf of others, and never pay for reviews. Coordinated fake reviews — positive or negative — are exactly what the Dubai case was about.
• Cool off before posting. I tell clients to write the review, wait a day, then remove every adjective.
• Use formal channels for disputes. For property, that means the regulator, the developer's complaints process, or the courts — not social media.

My take

In my own business I read every review we receive, including critical ones, and I would much rather a client wrote "the response time was slow" than said nothing. Honest feedback is protected, and it makes markets better. What the UAE does not tolerate is false accusation and abuse. If you keep to facts, keep your tone calm and keep your evidence, you are on safe ground.