The Committee to Protect Journalists has also expressed concern over the draft law
in a letter they sent to the president of the UAE urging him to reject the law in its
current form because, if passed, ‘‘it will negatively impact the state of press freedom in
the UAE.’’ 17
The telecommunication services in the UAE are regulated by the TRA, which was
established in 2003 by a federal law and is tasked with ensuring adequacy of telecommunications services throughout the UAE and establishing and implementing a
regulatory and policy framework. 18 The TRA is responsible for producing the Internet
Access Management (IAM) policy, which outlines prohibited online content categories
for ISPs. These categories include Internet tools for accessing blocked content, content
providing information on criminal skills and illegal drugs, content containing pornography and nudity, gambling sites, Web sites for hacking and malicious codes, content
offensive to religions, phishing Internet sites, Internet content that downloads spyware, Web sites providing unlicensed VoIP service, terrorism content, and prohibited
top-level domain, 19 apparently a reference to the top-level domain of Israel (‘‘.il’’),
which is blocked in the UAE.
The UAE government has issued a federal law on combating cyber crimes. CyberCrime Law No. 2 of 2006 considers any intentional act that abolishes, destroys, or
reveals secrets or that results in the republishing of personal or official information to
be a crime. Individuals may be imprisoned for using the Internet to defame Islamic
places of worship and traditions, insult any recognized religion, or promote ‘‘sinful
acts.’’ Anyone convicted of ‘‘transcending family principles and values’’ or setting up
a Web site for groups ‘‘calling for, facilitating, and promoting ideas in breach of the
general order and public decency’’ may be jailed. 20
In August 2007, a court in the Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah sentenced the creator of
Web site majan.net to one year in prison and a fine for defaming a local official. The
court also ordered the site to be shut down. In September, the same individual received
a five-month prison sentence and a fine in a second defamation case involving another
local official, but was released on bail at the end of September 2007. Two months later,
his two prison sentences were overturned by an appeals court after defamation complaints were withdrawn by the officials. In the end, he received a one-year suspended
prison sentence after being convicted in a third defamation case. 21
In April 2009, the chief of Dubai’s police force denied allegations that Dubai Police
had asked UAE’s Telecommunication Regulatory Authority to censor Web sites. In earlier reports, the head of the Doha Media Freedom Center claimed that the Dubai Police
had developed a list of 500 keywords, by which access to certain Web sites would be
blocked. 22 The police chief stated that the government did not attempt to censor Web
sites critical of the UAE, that the 500 search terms were designed to shield UAE Internet
users against pornographic content, and that they were proposed by the telecommunication regulators themselves, not the Dubai Police. 23 This denial came shortly after
Dubai’s police chief called for the blocking of the video-sharing site YouTube because,
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United Arab Emirates
in a letter they sent to the president of the UAE urging him to reject the law in its
current form because, if passed, ‘‘it will negatively impact the state of press freedom in
the UAE.’’ 17
The telecommunication services in the UAE are regulated by the TRA, which was
established in 2003 by a federal law and is tasked with ensuring adequacy of telecommunications services throughout the UAE and establishing and implementing a
regulatory and policy framework. 18 The TRA is responsible for producing the Internet
Access Management (IAM) policy, which outlines prohibited online content categories
for ISPs. These categories include Internet tools for accessing blocked content, content
providing information on criminal skills and illegal drugs, content containing pornography and nudity, gambling sites, Web sites for hacking and malicious codes, content
offensive to religions, phishing Internet sites, Internet content that downloads spyware, Web sites providing unlicensed VoIP service, terrorism content, and prohibited
top-level domain, 19 apparently a reference to the top-level domain of Israel (‘‘.il’’),
which is blocked in the UAE.
The UAE government has issued a federal law on combating cyber crimes. CyberCrime Law No. 2 of 2006 considers any intentional act that abolishes, destroys, or
reveals secrets or that results in the republishing of personal or official information to
be a crime. Individuals may be imprisoned for using the Internet to defame Islamic
places of worship and traditions, insult any recognized religion, or promote ‘‘sinful
acts.’’ Anyone convicted of ‘‘transcending family principles and values’’ or setting up
a Web site for groups ‘‘calling for, facilitating, and promoting ideas in breach of the
general order and public decency’’ may be jailed. 20
In August 2007, a court in the Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah sentenced the creator of
Web site majan.net to one year in prison and a fine for defaming a local official. The
court also ordered the site to be shut down. In September, the same individual received
a five-month prison sentence and a fine in a second defamation case involving another
local official, but was released on bail at the end of September 2007. Two months later,
his two prison sentences were overturned by an appeals court after defamation complaints were withdrawn by the officials. In the end, he received a one-year suspended
prison sentence after being convicted in a third defamation case. 21
In April 2009, the chief of Dubai’s police force denied allegations that Dubai Police
had asked UAE’s Telecommunication Regulatory Authority to censor Web sites. In earlier reports, the head of the Doha Media Freedom Center claimed that the Dubai Police
had developed a list of 500 keywords, by which access to certain Web sites would be
blocked. 22 The police chief stated that the government did not attempt to censor Web
sites critical of the UAE, that the 500 search terms were designed to shield UAE Internet
users against pornographic content, and that they were proposed by the telecommunication regulators themselves, not the Dubai Police. 23 This denial came shortly after
Dubai’s police chief called for the blocking of the video-sharing site YouTube because,
592
United Arab Emirates