Internet tools, including those which facilitate hacking (e.g., thesecretlist.com),
anonymizers (e.g., anonymizer.com), and translation tools (Google Web site translator,
not the text translator), remain substantially filtered. Similarly, numerous VoIP sites
(Skype.com, www.pc2call.com) were still blocked in accordance with the national ban
on such applications.
In October 2006, the UAE unblocked access to social networking and multimedia
sharing sites, including YouTube.com, Flickr.com, Metacafe.com, and MySpace.com.
However, sections of these Web sites containing objectionable material remain
unavailable. The photo-sharing site Flickr (Flickr.com) was later blocked entirely.
Conclusion
The UAE continues to prevent its citizens from accessing a significant amount of Internet content spanning a variety of topics. Though the vast majority of Web sites filtered
are those deemed obscene in some way, a select few political Web sites are blocked, as
are some pertaining to Nazis, Holocaust denial, and historical revisionism. The entire
‘‘.il’’ top-level domain continues to be blocked as well, which is more indicative of the
UAE’s opposition to the state of Israel than to the content.
Additionally, the state has extended its filtering scheme to the Dubai free zones,
which previously enjoyed unfettered Internet access, and has increased the depth of
technical filtering, blocking more Web sites across broader categories.
The UAE employs SmartFilter software to block content related to nudity, sex, dating, gambling, the occult, religious conversion, and drugs. Web sites pertaining to
anonymizer tools, hacking, translation tools (as these have been used as proxies), and
VoIP applications are also filtered in this manner.
Lastly, there are government efforts to monitor Internet activities in public Internet
cafe ´s to ensure that connections provided there do not bypass national filtering. Electronic surveillance to monitor objectionable online activities is publically acknowledged by the authorities.
Notes
1. BBC News, ‘‘Country Profile: United Arab Emirates,’’ August 3, 2009, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/
hi/middle_east/country_profiles/737620.stm.
2. Human Rights Watch, ‘‘United Arab Emirates: Events of 2007,’’ http://hrw.org/englishwr2k8/
docs/2008/01/31/uae17622.htm.
3. Ibid.
4. BBC News, ‘‘Country Profile: United Arab Emirates,’’ August 3, 2009, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/
hi/middle_east/country_profiles/737620.stm.
596
United Arab Emirates
anonymizers (e.g., anonymizer.com), and translation tools (Google Web site translator,
not the text translator), remain substantially filtered. Similarly, numerous VoIP sites
(Skype.com, www.pc2call.com) were still blocked in accordance with the national ban
on such applications.
In October 2006, the UAE unblocked access to social networking and multimedia
sharing sites, including YouTube.com, Flickr.com, Metacafe.com, and MySpace.com.
However, sections of these Web sites containing objectionable material remain
unavailable. The photo-sharing site Flickr (Flickr.com) was later blocked entirely.
Conclusion
The UAE continues to prevent its citizens from accessing a significant amount of Internet content spanning a variety of topics. Though the vast majority of Web sites filtered
are those deemed obscene in some way, a select few political Web sites are blocked, as
are some pertaining to Nazis, Holocaust denial, and historical revisionism. The entire
‘‘.il’’ top-level domain continues to be blocked as well, which is more indicative of the
UAE’s opposition to the state of Israel than to the content.
Additionally, the state has extended its filtering scheme to the Dubai free zones,
which previously enjoyed unfettered Internet access, and has increased the depth of
technical filtering, blocking more Web sites across broader categories.
The UAE employs SmartFilter software to block content related to nudity, sex, dating, gambling, the occult, religious conversion, and drugs. Web sites pertaining to
anonymizer tools, hacking, translation tools (as these have been used as proxies), and
VoIP applications are also filtered in this manner.
Lastly, there are government efforts to monitor Internet activities in public Internet
cafe ´s to ensure that connections provided there do not bypass national filtering. Electronic surveillance to monitor objectionable online activities is publically acknowledged by the authorities.
Notes
1. BBC News, ‘‘Country Profile: United Arab Emirates,’’ August 3, 2009, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/
hi/middle_east/country_profiles/737620.stm.
2. Human Rights Watch, ‘‘United Arab Emirates: Events of 2007,’’ http://hrw.org/englishwr2k8/
docs/2008/01/31/uae17622.htm.
3. Ibid.
4. BBC News, ‘‘Country Profile: United Arab Emirates,’’ August 3, 2009, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/
hi/middle_east/country_profiles/737620.stm.
596
United Arab Emirates