Conclusion
The UAE prevents its citizens from accessing a
significant amount of Internet content spanning a
variety of topics, though the majority of sites filtered appear to be those deemed obscene.
Outside the free zones, the state employs
SmartFilter software to block content such as
nudity, sex, dating, gambling, cults/occult, religious conversion, and drugs. Sites containing
anonymizer, hacking, translation, and VoIP applications are also filtered in this manner. The manual blocking of the entire Israeli domain is indicative of the government’s political opposition to
the Israeli state, rather than to the particular contents of the Web sites hosted there. Though most
political sites and news sources are accessible
throughout the country, a handful are blocked. It
remains to be seen how severely the enforcement of TRA policies in the free zone and affiliated residential clusters will hamper access to
Internet content and transform the traditionally
unrestricted information environment in those
areas.
NOTES
1. U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on
Human Rights Practices 2006: United Arab Emirates,
at 1.e., http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/
78865.htm.
2. Ibid., at 2.a.
3. Ibid., at 2.a.3.
4. Human Rights Watch, World Report 2007: United
Arab Emirates, http://hrw.org/englishwr2k7/docs/
2007/01/11/uae14724.htm.
5. U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on
Human Rights Practices 2006: United Arab Emirates,
at 2.c., http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006
/78865.htm.
6. United Arab Emirates Yearbook 2007: Infrastructure
at 190, http://www.uaeinteract.com/uaeint_misc/
pdf_2007/English_2007/eyb6.pdf.
7. Internet World Stats “Middle East Internet usage and
population statistics,” http://www.internetworldstats.
com/stats5.htm (citing International Telecommunication Union data).
8. See Etisalat, About Us: Corporate Information,
http://www.etisalat.co.ae/.
9. See General Policy for the Telecommunication Sector
(GTP), http://www.tra.ae/NationalTelecom
PolicyofUAE.pdf.
10. See United Arab Emirates Yearbook 2007:
Infrastructure at 193, http://www.uaeinteract.com/
uaeint_misc/pdf_2007/English_2007/eyb6.pdf.
11. United Arab Emirates Yearbook 2004: Information
and Culture at 254, http://www.uae.org.ae/
uaeint_misc/pdf/English/Culture_&_Information.pdf.
12. Etisalat (ecompany) Policies: Terms & Conditions,
“Condition of Use” at 1(v), http://ecompany.ae/eco/
isp/english/cs/policies/terms.html.
13. Gulf News, “du defends blocking of VoIP calls in free
zones,” January 29, 2007, http://archive.gulfnews.
com/articles/07/01/29/10100242.html.
14. Gulf News, “Free zones to be put under official web
filters,” February 10, 2007.
15. Article 2, Cyber-Crime Law No. 2 of 2006, printed in
Gulf News, February 13, 2006,
http://archive.gulfnews.com/uae/uaessentials/
more_stories/10018507.html.
16. Article 15, Cyber-Crime Law No. 2 of 2006.
17. Article 16, Cyber-Crime Law No. 2 of 2006.
18. Article 20, Cyber-Crime Law No. 2 of 2006.
408
Country Summaries
The UAE prevents its citizens from accessing a
significant amount of Internet content spanning a
variety of topics, though the majority of sites filtered appear to be those deemed obscene.
Outside the free zones, the state employs
SmartFilter software to block content such as
nudity, sex, dating, gambling, cults/occult, religious conversion, and drugs. Sites containing
anonymizer, hacking, translation, and VoIP applications are also filtered in this manner. The manual blocking of the entire Israeli domain is indicative of the government’s political opposition to
the Israeli state, rather than to the particular contents of the Web sites hosted there. Though most
political sites and news sources are accessible
throughout the country, a handful are blocked. It
remains to be seen how severely the enforcement of TRA policies in the free zone and affiliated residential clusters will hamper access to
Internet content and transform the traditionally
unrestricted information environment in those
areas.
NOTES
1. U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on
Human Rights Practices 2006: United Arab Emirates,
at 1.e., http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/
78865.htm.
2. Ibid., at 2.a.
3. Ibid., at 2.a.3.
4. Human Rights Watch, World Report 2007: United
Arab Emirates, http://hrw.org/englishwr2k7/docs/
2007/01/11/uae14724.htm.
5. U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on
Human Rights Practices 2006: United Arab Emirates,
at 2.c., http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006
/78865.htm.
6. United Arab Emirates Yearbook 2007: Infrastructure
at 190, http://www.uaeinteract.com/uaeint_misc/
pdf_2007/English_2007/eyb6.pdf.
7. Internet World Stats “Middle East Internet usage and
population statistics,” http://www.internetworldstats.
com/stats5.htm (citing International Telecommunication Union data).
8. See Etisalat, About Us: Corporate Information,
http://www.etisalat.co.ae/.
9. See General Policy for the Telecommunication Sector
(GTP), http://www.tra.ae/NationalTelecom
PolicyofUAE.pdf.
10. See United Arab Emirates Yearbook 2007:
Infrastructure at 193, http://www.uaeinteract.com/
uaeint_misc/pdf_2007/English_2007/eyb6.pdf.
11. United Arab Emirates Yearbook 2004: Information
and Culture at 254, http://www.uae.org.ae/
uaeint_misc/pdf/English/Culture_&_Information.pdf.
12. Etisalat (ecompany) Policies: Terms & Conditions,
“Condition of Use” at 1(v), http://ecompany.ae/eco/
isp/english/cs/policies/terms.html.
13. Gulf News, “du defends blocking of VoIP calls in free
zones,” January 29, 2007, http://archive.gulfnews.
com/articles/07/01/29/10100242.html.
14. Gulf News, “Free zones to be put under official web
filters,” February 10, 2007.
15. Article 2, Cyber-Crime Law No. 2 of 2006, printed in
Gulf News, February 13, 2006,
http://archive.gulfnews.com/uae/uaessentials/
more_stories/10018507.html.
16. Article 15, Cyber-Crime Law No. 2 of 2006.
17. Article 16, Cyber-Crime Law No. 2 of 2006.
18. Article 20, Cyber-Crime Law No. 2 of 2006.
408
Country Summaries