A September 2026 amendment to Tunisia's cybercrime law sets fines of 10,000 to 20,000 dinars for a first covered offence. Repeat violations can still bring prison time and a much higher fine.
Decree-Law No. 1 of 2026 changes Article 24 of Tunisia's cybercrime law. For a first covered false-information offence, the penalty is now a fine rather than the prison term of up to five years allowed under the earlier version. Repeat violations can still bring jail time.
The amendment changes Decree-Law No. 54, adopted on September 13, 2022. It appeared in Tunisia's Official Gazette, the JORT, on September 30, 2026. Anadolu Agency reported the change. Xinhua's coverage also cited its publication in the gazette.
For a first offence, the revised article sets a fine of 10,000 to 20,000 Tunisian dinars. Coverage put that at about $3,300 to $6,600. The provision covers the intentional spread through information systems of fabricated or falsified data, false news or messages. It applies when the material is intended to harm the rights of others, public security or national defence, or to create panic among the population. The amendment also covers fabricated materials, personal data and false claims used to defame, damage a reputation, cause material or moral harm, incite attacks or promote hatred.
The conduct remains a crime. A first covered offence can still bring a substantial fine. The change is part of Tunisia's existing cybercrime framework, not a repeal of Decree-Law No. 54.
Repeat violations carry six months in prison and a fine of 50,000 dinars, reported as worth more than $16,000. The punishment is doubled when the person targeted is a public official or someone treated as one.
The amendment followed a government meeting chaired by President Kais Saied. Those at the meeting considered changes to Decree-Law No. 54 and other legislation. Reports based its legal status on publication in the JORT. Coverage available at the time did not cite a separate public explanation from the Ministry of Justice or the presidency. Decree-Law No. 54 was adopted in 2022 to address offences involving information and communication systems. Rights groups and media organisations have criticised it over its potential effect on freedom of expression. Earlier prison-death coverage also reported concerns about detention conditions.
For a first covered offence, prison is no longer the penalty. The repeat-offence clause still carries the threat of jail and a sharply higher fine. The change limits custodial punishment in some cases, but it does not end criminal liability or the concerns rights groups have raised about freedom of expression.
