UAE Imposes New Repressive Restrictions on Internet

In light of the policy of repression and restricting freedoms and espionage in the Emirates, Etisalat, on Wednesday, announced that as per BlackBerry Ltd notice, BlackBerry services such as BlackBerry Messenger – Pin to Pin – BlackBerry Internet service and BlackBerry email service will not be available from March 10, 2020.

The UAE imposes tight control on the Internet despite the UAE government’s extensive investments in new technologies and artificial intelligence, as Dubai hosts the regional offices of a number of giant Internet groups such as Google and YouTube, and most public services can be accessed via the Internet.

This decision comes after the controversy sparked by an Emirati spying app, for correspondence, which highlighted the strict monitoring of the Internet in the Emirates, which is known to crush any opposition and impose strict restrictions on freedoms. This decision is considered unfair to millions of foreign residents, as residents rely on making calls through the application “WhatsApp” or “Skype” with their families outside the UAE is not a simple matter, as free calls via the Internet widely spread throughout the world, is still prohibited in UAE.

The decision will prompt many residents to resort to the “Tik Tok” espionage application that an Emirati company designed to communicate with their families, and to ensure spying on them. The “Tik Tok” application is very popular in the Middle East, where several countries impose restrictions or even prevent most of the communication services through applications such as WhatsApp.

Companies “Apple” and “Google” removed this application after the American New York Times last December, published a report accusing the UAE intelligence services of having direct access to messages and conversations via video or even data related to the geographic location of the phone holder, in addition to accessing the phone cameras and microphones.

On Tuesday, Amnesty International issued a report on the human rights situation in the Middle East and North Africa in 2019, during which it accused the UAE system of continuing to commit grave human rights violations.