Dubai's du to block offensive websites

Unrestricted internet access for some Dubai residents living in freezones and beyond is about to come to an abrupt halt.

The country’s alternative telecom provider, du, issued an advisory Sunday afternoon noting that it will begin blocking all and any websites that do not adhere to the values of the United Arab Emirates.

The website ban officially comes into effect Monday, XPRESS has learnt.

“We wish to inform you that from 14 April 2008 we will be blocking sites with content that do not conform to the moral, social and cultural values of the UAE,” du stated in an SMS text sent to its customers.

When the ban takes effect, du customers will join the ranks of Etisilat customers who are also blocked from viewing any website from around the globe with text or images considered offensive by the UAE authorities.

A du official confirmed that the company sent out the text.

“Yes, this is correct,” the official said Sunday in an interview. “I am aware of this SMS.”
In a written statement to XPRESS, du said it “will be blocking all content that is not in line with these values, effective from 14 April 2008. Due to the nature of the content filtering process, some harmless sites may also inadvertently be blocked.”

The blocking decision was confirmed by Telecommunications Regulatory Authority spokesman Rasheed Joumblatt who noted that complaints to the TRA about offensive websites are followed up and warning notices are sent to both telecom providers.

“The problem here are the freezones,” Joumblatt said, adding that there can be breaches in phone lines outside of the freezones allowing banned sites to “sneak around the proxy” servers.

Joumblatt said he saw the du text message yesterday and pointed out that both du and Etisalat must abide by national laws that do not allow electronic text or images into the country that violate the UAE’s standards.

“The proxy software is there and everyone should follow the rules and regulations or the TRA regarding the values, traditions and ethics of the UAE,” Joumblatt said.

Websites that contain pornography, hatred, child abuse, alcohol, gambling or terrorism are blocked using filtering software that recognizes the subject material and blocks the sites from being viewed, he said.

He said that complaints received from families living in freezones were received by the TRA.
The websites named in the complaints were screened by the TRA and then notices were sent out to both du and Etisalat instructing them to block the site in question.
Joumblatt couldn’t say how many complaints were received from unblocked websites viewed over du connections.

du statement

Here is the du statement issued to XPRESS about an hour after the customer SMS texts were issued on Sunday:

It is our constant endeavour to maintain the perfect balance between ensuring that all our customers' requirements are met, and that we comply with all the guidelines of the TRA, including those on internet content filtering.

The World Wide Web offers us great opportunities to get and share information and to communicate. However, it is imperative that when making use of this technology for its enormous benefits, we respect the moral, social and cultural values of the United Arab Emirates.

du will be blocking all content that is not in line with these values, effective from 14 April 2008. Due to the nature of the content filtering process, some harmless sites may also inadvertently be blocked. We request our customers' assistance in informing us when a site that they consider harmless has been blocked, by writing to safesurf@du.ae so we can look into the matter.

du counts on the understanding, support and encouragement of each of our valued customers as we continue to further strengthen our portfolio of products and services, and with all the systems that will fall into place in the process.