Dahi clarifies YouTube content issue

Dubai: The Dubai Police chief expressed surprise at the response of Doha Centre for Media Freedom in condemning Dubai Police's request to restrict access to pornographic materials on the internet.

The Doha Centre for Media Freedom stated in a press release that they sent an open letter to the internet giant Google "warning it not to give in to calls for censorship [by Dubai Police]."

Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Chief of Dubai Police, said: "I did not request Google representatives to block pornographic materials uploaded on YouTube from Qatar internet services, but asked them to take this into account in the UAE."

He was responding to a press release released by the Doha Centre for Media Freedom in which they condemned the Dubai Police for calling for a campaign to restrict electronic content that is pornographic, mocks religions, strengthens atheism, fosters a feeling of insecurity or is unsuitable for young children.

YouTube, a video sharing website, was the focus of a much-debated discussion reported earlier in Gulf News between Major-General Khamis Mattar Al Muzainah, Deputy Chief of Dubai Police and Giselle Hescuk, Google's head of development for Europe and the Middle East.

The press release incorrectly stated that Lieutenant-General Dahi drew up a censorship plan with Hescuk, "which the UAE authorities said would maintain religious harmony and prevent any infringements of religious and ethnic integrity in the light of local culture and traditions."

In a press statement, Lieutenant-General Dahisaid: "I did not meet with Giselle Hescuk and I did not discuss with her to block 500 keywords that would block access to certain sites."

Instead, Lieutenant-General Dahi earlier met with officials from the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) to block more than 500 keywords that could fetch obscene sites, especially sites that contradict the values and traditions of UAE society.

The Doha Centre called on Google and its subsidiary YouTube to reject the proposals.

"Blackmail by the Dubai authorities is unacceptable. The UnAE cannot make any form of censorship a condition of access to the internet," the statement said.