UAE proxy server imposed nationwide

CONTENT FILTER: Du has blocked all content deemed offensive to the

UAE telecom Du has blocked all websites deemed to offend the "moral, social and cultural values" of the Gulf Arab state, the company said on Sunday.

The move means from Monday companies operating out of Dubai's free zones and residents in Nakheel or Emaar Properties freehold developments will come under the UAE's proxy server for the first time.

According to the UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), the proxy server blocks websites that contain pornography, alcohol, gambling, hatred, child abuse or terrorism.

However, many more sites than just those containing these subjects are covered by the proxy.

The move will raise concerns that media freedom is being restricted as many local and international media organisations have headquarters in Dubai Media City (DMC), one of the free zones to which Du provides telecoms and internet services.

Du informed customers of the change in its content filtering policy on Sunday via SMS text message.

"We wish to inform you that from April 14, 2008 we will be blocking sites with content that do not conform to the moral, social and cultural values of the UAE," Du said.

Du said in a statement to ArabianBusiness.com the change would bring its internet service in line with TRA guidelines.

Internet services offered by UAE incumbent telecom Etisalat have long been covered by the proxy server and TRA officials have said on several occasions over the past year that Du services would follow.

Censorship of the internet, common in much of the Arab world, has long been opposed by press freedom advocates and human rights groups that claim unrestricted access to information is integral to free expression.

Reporters Without Borders ranks the UAE 65th out of 169 countries in latest Press Freedom Index.

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incompetent proxy management
Posted by Karl, Dubai, UAE on Saturday 19 April 2008 at 10:20 UAE time

Aside from the violation of human freedom, another problem is that they have no idea how to manage a real filter. Youtube is not functioning properly. The UAE is blocking 60% to 70% of videos for the past couple of weeks. We are talking about documentaries and videos on science, physics, geology, archeology, philosophy and world facts.

UAE Proxy Server
Posted by Lee, Dubai, UAE on Tuesday 15 April 2008 at 23:33 UAE time

Well another cement brick to the wall of hypocrisy that exists in this country. You want to build a a new world economy but restrict the very access and freedoms that is required. You need a multicultural society as long as its on your exact terms. You hold awards for press freedom yet the Internet Free Zone is bound by the shackles of your proxy. Come on Dubai make up your minds, move into the 21st century. Your choice!!!

Sarcasm Needs Smileys ?
Posted by Tom on Tuesday 15 April 2008 at 09:31 UAE time

The brevity of my earlier message was associated with the profound belief that since there is no mechanism in which public opinion is a means to address and change governmental regulation, this move would also be permanent. In hindsight, the message should have spelled out the points:

First off : To the views expressed by Mr. Adil Mirza : Thank you sir. But honestly can you say that the governmental view on the moral code is public? Does the very page that restrict access to any site say why that site has been blocked in the first place? Is there an online charter as to what is deemed offensive in the first place. If there is please do feel free to direct me to it; I am yet to come across anything of this nature. Governments as such practice duplicity(no country is exempt), it is up to the citizens to rectify or bring these issues to light. Asking them to do so after curtailing their freedom is akin to tying their hands behind their backs and giving them cement shoes to facilitate easy movement.

To Dil : If sarcasm is lost on you maybe we should pepper the comments with smiley or start and end quote marks. This might be hard to comprehend so I will spell it out to you : It was meant to be mildly humourous and sarcastic. Look up the internet usage statistics. Usage statistics from 2002 would suggest 48% (the number is higher on other evaluations ) of the traffic was related to pornography, however as of date the single biggest chunk is related to personal web use (blogs, networking sites). The fastest growing areas are Asia and the Middle East (this area records maximum growth in numbers in the period 2000 to 2007). Contrary to what you believe "an open net" does not lead to child abuse. One can use it one's advantage to educate the general public to these evils. Closing your eyes does not make it go away and again please do force a rethink if you think child abuse and "other stuff" do not exist within the UAE. Could it be you have not heard of it because of the stringent regulation in place? I would even go out on a limb and say that I am currently better informed from where I operate than an individual within the UAE as I have access to certain websites whose owners write based on first person accounts.

Here is another thought. I grew up in the Middle East and knew no other place as home. I love the country with my heart and soul. I draw comparisons to it, about the security these places offer (it is unparalleled). (If I went out for a stroll at 3 am in certain quarters in France or some neighborhoods of London or for that matter downtown Brooklyn, I would be asking for a mugging, rape or both.) I want my home to improve and hence the concern. Growth is fostered by asking shareholders to give the regulators and policy makers their views. Until openness is fostered the place simply cannot grow.

The standard call to "Go back to your country" does not hold good. The very fact that I have grown up here makes it, in a way, my country. Even if the lawmakers refuse to acknowledge that it does not mean I am equal to a citizen. I have worked here for 5 years and have contributed to its growth.

Have you ever thought that of the 5.6 million people in the UAE, if those who really did not like a specific thing just left, how many would be left? Hopefully with the dropping dollar and the rising Asian markets you may still get your wish in the near future.

As to the arbitrariness of policy, I will leave you with this thought : Orkut is a networking site owned by Google. Facebook by Microsoft (partly). Orkut is banned. Facebook is not. Business as usual ? Me thinks NOT.

FUNNY!
Posted by NORA on Tuesday 15 April 2008 at 08:29 UAE time

It is really funny....I expected it would happen sooner or later, but would have thought DU to be wiser than etisalat and will not block sites like skype? Why cant you allow people to have long distance calls that are way cheaper than your "pocket-ripping" prices.....OOPS... I know the answer, you would have less cash flow.

Bypassing filters
Posted by Harry Barracuda, Manama, Bahrain on Monday 14 April 2008 at 18:36 UAE time


Come on kids, don't you know how to get round Etisalat's filters yet? It's EASY!

Fine, but add 'Economic' to the sentence
Posted by Saad D, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Monday 14 April 2008 at 18:01 UAE time


Amending the statement to read 'Moral, social, cultural and economic values of the UAE' will explain why Skype is blocked. Unless Skype has a porn, racist, communist mode that I am not aware of...

A sad day indeed
Posted by Stephen on Monday 14 April 2008 at 15:49 UAE time


I agree with the comments posted by Sam. Regardless of whether you agree with the need to censor the net (I incidently do not but thats another story) the fact is that the filter applied in the UAE is too strict. They are banning many sites which could not reasonably be said to violate the "moral, social and cultural values of the UAE". Skype is one, flickr is another.

If you apply these types of retrictions you also need to have a flexible system to monitor and control it. Where can I go to petition my belief that sites should be unblocked?

UAE proxy server imposed nationwide
Posted by abuzaid, dubai, uae on Monday 14 April 2008 at 13:39 UAE time

I understand being filtered but can any one from du or etislat tell why they are filtering sites like skype.com and any website that give the option to use internet for long distance calls. Just try to go to skype.com and see what is the message you get this against cultural religious and regulations... I wish the filtering include the hundred of spam emails I receive through my etisalat mail account - technically this could be reduced by 90 % -and by the way its offensive spam.

To Tom and coterie:
Posted by Adil Mirza on Monday 14 April 2008 at 13:13 UAE time

Family values all over the world are very close to each other in spirit. Unfortunately people like Tom, who are too quick to point finger on variance in moral, social and cultural values of any Muslim society should have a sobering effect on themselves if they care to give a closer look at the insincere duplicity and hypocrisy being practised by their own society-controling and fascist-in-guise groups (not to mention state policies too now). Famous quote for such guys: "Physician, heal thyself"
(Complete: "And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country." - King James Version)

A sad day for all
Posted by Sam on Monday 14 April 2008 at 12:32 UAE time

This is indeed sad news for those who regularly use the internet, and indeed for the ISP industry as a whole. This is going to hurt our ranking on world tables. I believe China (infamous for their state censorship of the internet) may now have freer access than we do. Nobody shares the exact same moral, social and cultural values. That's human nature - and those are extremely vague and grey areas.

I think there should be a massive push to petition this regulation spearheaded by local residents and internet users. I'm certain you'll have the quiet support of your ISPs who have to take to financial burden of regulating what the TRA deem unfit for human consumption.

I just do not like the way it is done
Posted by Mohammed, Mansoura, Egypt on Monday 14 April 2008 at 12:09 UAE time

I think no one should be monitoring the traffic of the internet by any mean as this is not a moral to watch over what people do and then use a proxy, I know as an IT engineer that the proxies are not smart and they get many of the useful websites blocked with the bad ones, I do not like pornography or support it but to filter it you should use more wisdom to do so, and I do not think the people in Dubai are in desperate need to use these sites, there are solutions like using filters in the customers PC when they ask for it when they have an responsible minors.

To Tom
Posted by Dil, Dubai, UAE on Monday 14 April 2008 at 11:38 UAE time

Hey TOM... just a quick suggestion... go back to your so-called freedom loving country and watch all the free porn you can... and in fact practice it too...

Excellent Step
Posted by CC, Dubai, UAE on Monday 14 April 2008 at 11:07 UAE time


Thank you DU for taking a +ve step in the development of a Muslim country where islamic teachings, morals and values are respected and followed. The open web is simply spoiling our coming generation. You took a good step before it was too late. Thanking you again.

Shocking? Not Really
Posted by Tom on Monday 14 April 2008 at 08:05 UAE time


This move was inevitable.

Problem is no one knows what exactly are the "moral, social and cultural values of the UAE".

At best the logic applied is arbitary.

In short: No more free porn.

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