Source: Arab News

Alkhobar: Saudi courts accept electronic conversations as a form of evidence but are increasingly cautious about screenshots because artificial intelligence makes image and conversation fabrication easier. Under Articles 53, 54 and 55 of the Evidence Law, electronic data transmitted, stored or communicated electronically can carry the same evidentiary weight as written documents if legal requirements are met, yet practitioners say screenshots rarely suffice on their own. Judges focus on authenticity, ownership, context and metadata; lawyers advise preserving original devices, recording video scroll-throughs of threads when full display is impossible, and referring material to technical or security authorities for forensic examination.

Interviewed lawyers and victims described cases across blackmail, labor, defamation and marriage-annulment proceedings where screenshots contributed to outcomes but required corroboration such as contracts, bank transfers, emails, telecom records or the original phone. Several accounts recount suspects deleting messages or denying account ownership; investigators then gathered cross-platform evidence (for example from Instagram) to verify identity and confront the accused. A practitioner noted that screenshots are treated as photographic copies or secondary extracts and are not conclusive if authenticity is contested. Article 58 is cited as placing the burden on the party alleging forgery, prompting courts to appoint digital forensic specialists to examine original devices, metadata and provider records; cybersecurity experts stressed that the original digital source, not the image file, is the actual evidence in an era of AI-enabled manipulation.