It is now a criminal offence in Saudi Arabia to spy on your spouse’s phone without their prior consent, and offenders could be imprisoned for a year and or pay a fine of 500,000 Saudi riyal ($133,000) if found guilty.

In a statement issued on Monday, Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Culture said the new law seeks to "protect morals of individuals and society and protect privacy".

The ministry explained that the law which has been christened as the Anti-Cybercrime Law frowns on "spying on, interception or reception of data transmitted through an information network or a computer.It added that: "Social media has resulted in a steady increase in cybercrimes such as blackmail, embezzlement and defamation, not to mention hacking of accounts", hence the need to pass the Anti-Cybercrime Law to regulate the cyberspace among others.

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Inasmuch as the framers of the law may have meant well, some analysts believe it favours promiscuous men and rather makes it difficult for their wives to prove a case against them.

Per the laws of Saudi Arabia regarding divorce, a woman who seeks divorce her husband on the basis of promiscuity or abuse can only obtain alimony from the man if she is able to provide evidence to that effect, and phones and computers used to be good sources of such evidence.

However, despite the fact that the Anti-Cybercrime Law binds both men and women, the latter stands to be at a disadvantage. It will obviously make it difficult for them to prove allegations of abuse or promiscuity against their husbands.

According to Reuters news, Saudi Arabia’s neighbour, United Arab Emirates has a similar law, but its sanctions are more lenient than those of Egypt.

Offenders of the law in UAE are liable to minimum three-month prison term and 3,000 dirham ($817) fine.