Internet censorship in the UAE

Running Head : Internet Censorship

Internet Censorship in the United Arab Emirates

Name

College /University

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA ) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE ) is implementing an Internet censorship policy with principles anchored with religious and moral values that the country is practicing . Although censorship may prove to be beneficial in to filter the negative effects that people might obtain from substantial access to online information , it may also be disadvantageous if the sites that the TRA is blocking are educational and helpful for the country 's citizens

. Perhaps , blocking sites entirely that violates the values of the people is not the answer to the problem , rather it will be more advantageous if TRA regulates the amount and kind of information that the people may access on all websites

TRA previously unblocked medical websites . Perhaps , the importance of medical and health knowledge was perceived by the government of UAE . It is not enough to block websites just because through a search , obscene words such as sex ' terrorism ' and the likes , have been highlighted in some websites . There should be standards and guidelines that the TRA should follow in to ensure the Internet censorship policy would yield positive effects and not block the advantageous factors that people can gain from accessing the World Wide Web

Yes , the religion and the values that UAE will be respected because it is their right , as an independent territory to practice a religion of their choice . Yes , there is a need to filter information that can be accessed in the Internet . This thought is guided by the increasing statistics of crime rates performed online . Thousands of criminal offenses reported that caught global attention includes pornography (and not just pornography , but also child pornography , information system attacks by third party (through hacking or sending spam and viruses to anonymous and innocent users , theft (credit card number theft , account transfers , rape and violence (through networking sites , criminals are able to get in touch with innocent victims who will be willing to meet with them , in the end they get drugged , raped , or killed , terrorism (sites about how to assemble a bomb , etc , and other offenses that disregards values , norms , and mores , and endanger the lives of civilians

Under these premises , the need for Internet censorship is framed However , to ensure that Internet censorship policies are appropriate TRA should follow a set of guidelines . There should be a planning committee that will determine what kind of Internet material or resources should be blocked based on the values , norms , and mores that UAE upholds . It should include materials or resources that are potentially risky , immoral , dangerous , etc . Moreover , the planning committee should also identify the scope of the regulation . This will answer questions such as cases with foreigners , adults , and researchers involved , etc . There are still special cases wherein sensitive issues need to be accessed due to a specific need

Implementation should follow strict regulation and supervision , with continuous assessment and evaluation of changes that might...