UAE privacy laws

Khaleej Times, All you need to know about UAE privacy laws, 14 Sep 2017 "Besides, one should be careful while using certain types of emojis while talking online. For example, if one uses the emoji of a 'middle finger' in a conversation and the recipient complaints about the act, it could lead one to jail, fines and deportation."

Online Fight Against Islamic State Makes Gains, U.S. Envoy Says

bloomberg.com, Online Fight Against Islamic State Makes Gains, U.S. Envoy Says, 28 June 2016 "[Brett] McGurk said he visited the year-old Sawab Center in the United Arab Emirates where "Muslims from the U.A.E. and the area who want to fight” Islamic State work around the clock. He said he met “smart, engaged, dynamic, incredible young people” at the center, which the State Department has described as “the first-ever multinational online messaging and engagement program” to counter terrorist propaganda."

Screenshot from @sawabcenter

Arab Social Media Influencers Summit

Zawya, Internet giants support Arab social media summit " The Arab Social Media Influencers Summit (ASMIS), which will take place on March 17-18 in Dubai, is the first event of its kind in the region and will allow delegates and partners to network, share trends and support the positive use of social media platforms. It will also help identify best practices in the use of these channels." I'll be interested to observe this (unfortunately from a distance!)

UAE social media

Douglas A. Wissing, Genie Uncorked: Social Media in the UAE, 5 Jun 2014 "Like a capricious genie, social media is vexing United Arab Emirate leaders eager to uncork its powers. With the Arab world's highest social networks penetration rates, the formerly quiescent Gulf monarchies are now abuzz with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+ and other social media. But the free-spirited social media genie is creating a unique tension in the 21st-century Arab autocracies."

UAE privacy laws

The National, Be aware of UAE privacy laws when posting Facebook content, TRA warns, 20 May 2014 "Posting content about other people on Facebook without their consent could be breaking the law, regulators warn."

Cyber criminals in Dubai

Dubai fares well against cyber-criminals | GulfNews.com: "Al Hajri [Lt Colonel Saeed Al Hajri, Director of the Electronic Crimes of Dubai Police Criminal And Investigation Department] said cybercrimes in the UAE are mainly defamation, extortion and financial fraud using the internet. This is in addition to crimes that contravene Islamic and Arabic culture."

Dubai: ITU World Conference on International Telecommunications

RFE/RL, Dubai Meeting On Internet Governance "Internet freedom advocates say they fear the debates will be closed to all but government representatives, and that the ITU will merely present its conclusions at the end of the conference without input from the private sector, technical experts, or civil society." Also see ITU, World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12)

UAE makes more online speech illegal, but English announcement leaves out the details

Matt J. Duffy, UAE makes more online speech illegal, but English announcement leaves out the details "The state news agency reported a major change to the Cybercrime Law of 2006 that details which online acts are illegal."

Also see Gulf News, Full text of UAE decree on combating cyber crimes, 12 Nov 2012 "The decree further stipulates punishments for any person creating or running an electronic site to publish information online or through any information technology means to promote any terrorist groups and any unlicensed society, organisation or body, to facilitate contacts with their leaders or to solicit new members, promote the thoughts thereof, to finance their activities, to provide funds and actual help for its activities, or, for that matter, to promote the making of incendiary devices, explosives or any devices used in terrorist acts."

Cyber Warfare In The Middle East

also see Sky News, Israel Moves To Block Trojan Computer Attack

First Islamic Banking iPhone app in the UAE?

CPI Financial | News | First Islamic Banking iPhone app in the UAE?  " "Emirates Islamic Bank claims it has launched the first Islamic Banking iPhone application in UAE, enabling customers using iPhone to access online banking from their mobile. The App which is Arabic-enabled may be downloaded from Apple’s App Store." 

UAE censorship

Facebook and Twitter accounts gagged by police - The National

www.thenational.ae

"The defamatory Facebook and Twitter users based in the UAE were axed on evidence from Dubai Police, who say they do not routinely spy online."

Arab Media Forum

Arab Media Forum, Dubai Press Club Launches Fourth Edition of Arab Media Outlook, 30 Apr 2012 "Recent events in the Arab world have generated a relatively positive impact on the regional media, raising the bar on the quality of news reporting, accelerating the engagement with digital platforms and firmly placing the region on the strategic map of global media houses, announced Maryam Bin Fahad, Executive Director, Dubai Press Club."

Also see Kuwait Times, Media Forum addresses issues in shadow of ‘Arab Spring’

The Forum takes place 8-9 May in Dubai. The report will be made available then. One of the sessions is on ‘Religious Discourses in Arab Media: The Expected Role” (which I would have liked to have sat in on).

The Twitter feed is #AMF2012 from which I got the following info:

"نادي دبي للصحافة ‏ @DubaiPressClub

• Close

You may download the 4th edition of the Arab Media Outlook by clicking on the following link : " http://bit.ly/JoMOeW " #AMF2012#Dubai"

YouTube UAE

bikyamasr.com, Google launches UAE version of YouTube, 2 Ap 2012 "Online content in the UAE just got a huge lift, as parent company, Google, launched a homegrown version of its popular video platform, with YouTube.co.ae"

Fatwa allows Quran reading on smartphones

The National, Fatwa allows Quran reading on smartphones, 29 Mar 2012 

"Now, officially, Muslims in the UAE are allowed to stay connected to Islam while keeping up with today's fast-paced lifestyle.

 ""There isn't just one specified way of reading the Quran," said the fatwa, released by the Ifta centre of the Abu Dhabi General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments (Awqaf)."

  Abu Dhabi General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments (Awqaf)

UAE internet research

Sokol, D. and Sisler V. Socializing on the Internet: Case Study of Internet Use Among University Students in the United Arab Emirates. In: Global Media Journal, Vol. 9, Iss. 16, 2010 "This paper analyzes socializing on the Internet and attitudes towards the Internet as a medium of social interaction among university students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It stems from a larger research project conducted at seven different institutions of higher education in the Abu Dhabi Emirate between 2007-2009 through anonymous questionnaires."

UAE BlackBerry issues

Khaleej Times Online - Etisalat, du keep BlackBerry plans open, 2 Sep 2010

BlackBerry issue opinion piece

Haroon Siddiqui, The Toronto Star, Siddiqui: De-encrypting hypocrisy of BlackBerry issue, 18 Aug 2010 "But it's not all about prudish Saudis stopping young men and women flirting via messaging. Or the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Algeria, India, Indonesia and Algeria failing to grasp “the reality of the Internet,” as Mike Lazaridis, RIM's co-CEO, said. They understand it all too well.

"Nor is it true, as he said, that “a lot of those people don't have Ph.D.s, and they don't have a degree in computer science.” They do. They are far more educated than he, a college dropout.

"Nor is this issue about RIM and its backers, the U.S. and Canada, being on the side of angels, while the Arabs, Indians and Indonesians are dancing with the devil.

"This is about those states wanting to eavesdrop the way our governments do."

BlackBerry debate

The Associated Press: Info freedom at center of Gulf's BlackBerry debate, 9 Aug 2010 ""A company like RIM really needs to think not just about the UAE or Saudi Arabia, but about their customers worldwide," said Cindy Cohn, legal director and general counsel for digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation. "If BlackBerry is willing to offer backdoor access (in the Gulf), other countries are going to want that too. And at that point it's really a race to the bottom.""

BlackBerry suspension

Mashable, UAE to Ban BlackBerry E-mail, Web Browsing and Messaging, 1 Aug 2010 - er, that doesn't leave much "“In the public interest, we have today informed the providers of telecommunications services in the country of our decision to suspend the Blackberry services of messenger, email and electronic browsing,” stated Mohammed al-Ghanem, the chief of the UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority."

Arabic Bloggers Forum

WAM (Emirates News Agency), Arab Blogging Award launched in Ajman, 10 June 2010 "Outstanding Arab and Gulf bloggers will be recognised under a new ''Arab Blogging Award'' launched at the end of the first Arab Bloggers Forum hosted by the Emirate of Ajman."

More at GIA News, First Arab Bloggers Conference concludes sessions, 10 June 2010 "The First Arab Bloggers Conference, co-organised by the Department of Culture and Media (DCM) – Ajman, the Information General Authority and the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation, has shed light on the personalities and fads of the people behind the over 75 million active Arabic blogs on over 120,000 platforms."