Article 27 of the Saudi Communications and Information Technology Law

This article sets the penalty for committing the violations in Article 26, attempting them or helping in them.

1- Penalties: One or more of the following, without prejudice to any more severe penalty in another law:

• A fine of not more than SAR 25 million.
• Suspension of the service that is the subject of the violation, in whole or in part.
• Deprivation, for a set period, of obtaining a license to provide services or of renewing one.
• Blocking of the digital content platform, in whole or in part.

2- Effect: The penalty decision takes effect from the date the violator is notified of it.

3- Proceeds: In all cases the violator must surrender to the Authority the proceeds it earned from the violation, after returning any remaining payments to the user, without prejudice to the right of the injured party to compensation.

4- Removing the violation: The violator must stop the violation, correct it or remove it within the period set by the Committee. If it does not, the Authority may ask the Committee to punish it with one or more of the penalties in paragraph (1).

5- Proportionality: The penalty is proportionate to the size, nature, impact and repetition of the violation.

6- Publication: The Committee may provide in its decision for publishing its operative part electronically or in a local newspaper or otherwise, after the decision becomes final and at the violator's expense.

Article 28 regulates the formation of the Committee that imposes these penalties and the appeal against its decisions before the Administrative Court within 30 days. Anyone who has received a penalty should consult a lawyer specializing in administrative cases.