Keeping internet access safe from terror and danger

Abu Dhabi: Contrary to popular belief, there are no government employees sitting in cubicles blocking websites, counting and monitoring how many times you get the 'Site Blocked' announcement.

In recent years the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has been criticised for censoring the internet, but its spokesperson said: "The internet is a reflection of our society. We believe in what we are doing as an effort to keep the integrity and morale of the UAE.

"Some say this is not a sign of free society. But I say that here no one monitors your internet and how many times you try to log on to blocked sites. Unlike other countries, no one will visit your home and question you on trying to visit terrorist sites. We are preventing the problem before it happens by blocking the illegal sites."

A TRA spokesperson explained the reasons and workings behind blocking certain websites. The first myth, he wants to address is that "internet is no longer a luxury. It is a utility and it is our goal to see the internet inside every home".

Hot words

As the executive arm of the Supreme Committee for the supervision of the telecommunications sector, TRA was established in 2003 as a non-profit and independent body that monitors and regulates the internet among other communications.

Each of the Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Etisalat and du, are required by law to have a proxy programme where certain keywords are checked: sex, terrorism, dating, drugs, alcohol, pornography, and gambling, among others.

These keywords are mandatory by international laws in describing each and every single website.

The programme used by the ISPs automatically detects these websites and blocks them, giving you the 'Site Blocked' notice. "In case certain websites find a way around the proxy, TRA relies on feedback from the end users. Approximately half of the feedback we receive comes from end users who tell us these websites should be blocked. Within a short period of time we have someone from our office go through the site thoroughly and if it violates any UAE laws we send a letter to the ISPs and within minutes it's blocked," he said.

As for the reasons over which certain sites are blocked and others are not, the spokesperson said: "What is illegal in our society is also illegal on the internet - gambling, drugs, pornography, insulting other religions etc."

While the spokesperson doesn't deny that there maybe flaws with the programme blocking certain sites, he said they take the feedback from end users seriously.

Feedback

"Let's take Facebook [social networking website] for example. Recently they added the keyword 'dating' to their profile. That automatically triggered the ISP's programme to block Facebook.

"Many people e-mailed us shortly after and we looked into the matter and realised what was happening. In less than an hour, Facebook was back up. Now when you visit Facebook, the site is still functioning but any advertisements regarding dating are blocked. We don't block the site, we just block the thing in the site that violates UAE laws," he said.

"The big picture is to be developed and to be in the lead of this century. But knowledge and development doesn't mean ethic-free life or morale-free life. There are certain morals that the UAE government is obliged to protect."

Certain websites really need to be blocked for their content and a government agency which can censure morally unacceptable sites is a big help to the general public.
Alina
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: March 08, 2008, 12:41

This is absolutely right and is the sole responsibility of the government of the UAE to block such sites which spoil the moral character of the young generations.
Khalid
Fujairah,UAE
Posted: March 08, 2008, 12:25

I lived and worked in Dubai as a doctor for nearly 20 years. I still remember the time I tried to access the Middlesex Hospital website, only to have it blocked by the proxy server as being "inconsistent with the ...etc". Still makes me laugh. Oh, and the time I tried to look up a cooking recipe named "Saucy Chicken"...
Dr A P
Limassol,Cyprus
Posted: March 08, 2008, 12:08

All social networking websites are like a spider's web, once a child or teenager gets into it, he cannot possibly come out with his sanity intact and this is so evident.
Jamal
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 08, 2008, 11:43

I have seen that pages for Arabic - English dictionaries, cat food, computer education and tour guide websites are blocked. Just to mention some. Of course I don't know what advertisements there are on those as I can't see them. I think the filters should be improved as long as the law requires pages to be blocked.
Maryam
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: March 08, 2008, 11:10

We should appreciate TRA for protecting the ethics in our home and country, so that our young ones are safe. It's true that the internet contains millions of offensive sites. The people who criticise may not be aware of the reality.
Mohammed
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: March 08, 2008, 10:37

It is in the interest of all the citizens the government should do this to curb all these nefarious activities. Also, you should highlight in the media as to whom to inform to block certain sites.
P.K.V.
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 08, 2008, 10:02

Even I could not see my own photos which I have loaded in my webpage. It's useless to block all the sites.
Hajee
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 08, 2008, 09:41

I agree that the sites or something on them must be blocked. Now I refer to the Facebook episode, if it can be restored by blocking some content in it, so should Orkut, but in contrary the whole Orkut site is blocked, which is unfair.
JD
Dubai,UAE
Posted: March 08, 2008, 02:38