Online Defamation in Morocco: Guide to Remedies 2026

Before reporting a post, preserve it. An isolated screenshot may be cropped, altered, or detached from the discussion that gives it meaning. Preserve the full URL, the account’s visible name, its identifier, the date, time, description, comments, shares, and the page identifying the victim. Lawfully download the video or file when the platform provides a function for doing so, without circumventing any technical protection. Also retain notification emails and responses received from Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, or X.

A digital report prepared by a judicial commissioner, still commonly called a bailiff by litigants, gives the case greater evidentiary weight. The professional describes the browsing path followed, records the address, reproduces the visible content, and specifies the date of the findings. The report does not guarantee that the apparent account holder is the actual author of the message. Law No. 46-21 concerns the organization of the profession of judicial commissioners, but its promulgation, transitional provisions, and implementing regulations must be read together in the Official Gazette; it would be inaccurate to summarize this timetable solely as ‘entry into force in 2025.’

Electronic writing may be admitted as evidence. Article 417-1 of the Code of Obligations and Contracts, introduced under the legal framework governing electronic exchanges, recognizes electronic writing as having a value comparable to writing on paper when the person from whom it originates can be identified and its integrity is guaranteed. Law No. 53-05 supplements this framework. In practice, the criminal court retains discretion in assessing the evidence: a screenshot consistent with an official report, witness testimony, an original file, and notifications will be more persuasive than an anonymous image that cannot be linked to a URL.

If the account is anonymous, do not attempt to hack it or pay anyone to obtain its password. The King’s Public Prosecutor or the investigating judge may request relevant data from operators, hosting providers, and platforms, within the limits of the law and the applicable retention periods. An IP address does not automatically identify the author: it may correspond to family Wi-Fi, a business, an internet café, a VPN, or a shared phone. The investigation must therefore cross-check times, devices, numbers, payments, and other indicators.

Platforms established abroad generally do not disclose connection data to the victim upon a simple request. They use portals reserved for authorities and may require a specifically reasoned judicial request or an international cooperation mechanism. A response sometimes takes several months, and some data may have disappeared in the meantime. Promptly filing a documented complaint is therefore more effective than sending a succession of private messages to support services. Counsel may also request that data preservation be sought without waiting for the entire investigation to be completed.

The victim may begin at the competent police station or gendarmerie brigade. The judicial police officer records the victim’s statements, examines the submitted documents, and forwards the official report to the King’s Public Prosecutor. Request the complaint reference and retain a copy of every document. Do not hand over your only phone without first making a backup. Filing is not subject to any stamp duty, but private expenses may arise for the official report, translation, copies, technical assistance, or lawyers’ fees.

The complaint may also be addressed directly to the King’s Public Prosecutor at the Court of First Instance. It must reproduce the statements, explain why they are defamatory or insulting, identify the person targeted, and present the facts in chronological order. Attach a copy of the national identity card or passport, the URLs, screenshots, official report, original files, and evidence of harm. The public prosecutor may order an investigation, transfer the case to another public prosecutor’s office, prosecute the author, or close the case without further action.

Territorial jurisdiction in criminal matters depends in particular on the place where the offense was committed, the residence of the suspected person, or the place of that person’s arrest. The mere nationwide accessibility of a publication does not necessarily permit the free choice of any court. A complaint submitted to the public prosecutor’s office for the victim’s place of residence may be transferred to the public prosecutor’s office considered competent. For an independent compensation claim between merchants concerning a commercial dispute, the jurisdiction of the Commercial Court must be assessed under Law No. 53-95; the criminal offense remains within the jurisdiction of the Court of First Instance.

When the author has been precisely identified and the evidence is already sufficient, a direct summons before the criminal court may be considered. This procedure requires a correct legal classification, reliable identification, compliance with the time limits for service, and a document containing all required particulars. The special rules under Law No. 88-13 are particularly formalistic. Confusing insult with defamation, reproducing the statements incompletely, or serving a summons after the deadline may result in nullity or inadmissibility before the merits are even considered.

A complaint with an application to join the proceedings as a civil party before the investigating judge is governed by Articles 92 to 100 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. It may be considered after a case is closed without further action or when identification requires judicial investigations, subject to the statutory admissibility requirements. The judge may set a security deposit intended to cover procedural costs. No uniform national scale is published: depending on court registry practices and the nature of the case, the amount may range from a few hundred to several thousand dirhams and should be verified with the court registry when filing.

Articles 77 and 78 of the Code of Obligations and Contracts provide the basis for compensation for harm caused by fault. The victim may claim compensation for non-material harm, such as humiliation, anxiety or serious damage to reputation. The victim may also seek compensation for professional losses, medical costs or expenses directly caused by the acts. Merely stating a total amount is insufficient: each head of damage must be explained, quantified and linked to the disputed post through credible evidence.

Evidence of harm must be concrete: medical certificates, prescriptions, customer emails, terminations, comparative turnover figures, compliant witness statements and expenses incurred. A certificate may demonstrate an anxiety disorder without establishing, by itself, that the post was its sole cause. No official scale sets compensation per view, share or comment. Courts assess the amount according to the reach of the content, the duration of its circulation, the author’s conduct, the victim’s circumstances and the strength of the supporting documents submitted.

The claim may be brought before the criminal court hearing the case if the application to join the proceedings as a civil party is admissible and quantified submissions are filed. A separate action may also be brought before the civil court or, for certain commercial disputes between traders, before the Commercial Court. The choice depends on the legal classification, timetable and available evidence. Where the civil action is based on the same facts as ongoing criminal proceedings, the effect of those proceedings must be assessed before initiating multiple parallel proceedings.

In 2026, a digital official record is commonly charged at between 800 and 2,500 dirhams, and sometimes more for multiple accounts, videos or travel; this range reflects professional practice rather than a national statutory fee. Lawyers’ fees are freely determined. Fees of 3,000 to 10,000 dirhams are often observed for filing and following up a complaint, followed by 10,000 to 30,000 dirhams or more where an investigation, interim proceedings and compensation claims must be combined. These figures vary significantly between Casablanca, Rabat and secondary cities; only a fee agreement specifies the services and costs included.

A straightforward investigation may last a few weeks or several months. Identifying an anonymous account, conducting an IT expert examination or sending a request to a foreign platform frequently extends the case to six or eighteen months, or longer. Interim proceedings are faster, but their timetable depends on the court, service of process and legal complexity. Payment after judgment is not always voluntary: an enforceable copy must be obtained, the judgment must be formally served and, if necessary, enforcement measures must be initiated through a judicial commissioner.

The first mistake is to have the message removed before saving the URL, context and files. The second is to respond by publishing the alleged author’s number, address, private conversations or name. The victim may then become the perpetrator of an insult, threat or invasion of privacy. Collective denunciation campaigns should also be avoided. A measured formal notice requesting removal and preservation of the data, without asserting that a conviction is certain, is generally more useful than an aggressive exchange.

Another mistake is to label every negative criticism as defamation. A harsh opinion or subjective assessment does not always contain an allegation of a specific fact. Conversely, a single post may combine defamation, insult, threats, identity theft, invasion of privacy and unlawful data processing. An incorrect legal classification may result in applying the wrong time limit or bringing the matter before a court without jurisdiction. This is particularly risky when Law No. 88-13 is invoked without verifying whether the publication legally falls within the scope of the press.

Evidence must never be fabricated or embellished. Cropping a screenshot to the point of changing its meaning, artificially rearranging messages or attributing an account to a person without serious evidence may destroy the complaint’s credibility. Edited content or a false allegation intended to defame may itself fall under Article 447-2. If a screenshot received from a third party appears doubtful, preserve the file as received, record its origin and request an official record or technical analysis before submitting it as conclusive evidence.

The lawyer verifies the constituent elements of each offence, the limitation rules, territorial jurisdiction and the most proportionate procedure. The lawyer may coordinate the judicial commissioner, draft the complaint, follow up with the Public Prosecution Office, prepare a summons, request identification measures and argue the compensation claim. The lawyer’s involvement guarantees neither the identification of a fake profile nor the cooperation of a foreign platform or a conviction. The lawyer’s primary role is to prevent expiry of a limitation period, procedural invalidity, unusable evidence or an excessively broad removal request.

For the initial consultation, prepare a brief chronology, the exact links, original files, any available official record, correspondence with the platform and evidence of harm. Specify whether the content has been deleted, shared, altered or reposted, and whether any family, commercial or foreign proceedings exist. For a message in Darija or Amazigh, always retain the original version. A literal translation prepared by the victim may fail to convey the register, irony or cultural meaning that will enable the court to distinguish between insult, defamation, humour and lawful criticism.