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3.8 million UAE residents have downloaded a VPN, but is it legal? – News

3.8 million UAE residents have downloaded a VPN, but is it legal? – News

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Dubai – VPNs have the highest penetration rate in the UAE than any other Arab country.



Written by Waheed Abbas

Published: Wednesday 4 November 2020, 12:32 PM

Last update: Thu 5 Nov 2020, 3:40 PM

VPN usage is highest in Arab countries, with the top five VPN services having a penetration rate of 23.8 percent, according to a report by Atlas VPN.

The report found that the top five countries in the Arab world that use VPNs are the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

A VPN is a service that hides the user’s real IP address and encrypts their internet traffic. As a result, these changes prevent third parties such as the government, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), or hackers from tracking a user’s online activities.

The report revealed that 3.82 million UAE residents downloaded a VPN in the first half of 2020, with a penetration rate of 38.7 percent. It was the highest rate among Arab countries as well as globally.

It is followed by the United Arab Emirates, where 0.8 million residents have downloaded the VPN, making up 27.9 percent of the population. Oman comes third with 1.2 million downloads, representing 23.8 million downloads, followed by Saudi Arabia with 5.4 million downloads, and Kuwait with 0.55 million downloads.

The United Arab Emirates has a strict internet policy that bans all content that violates the moral and religious sentiments of the state, jeopardizes national safety and security, or jeopardizes national harmony.

VoIP services are also banned in the UAE, which is one of the main reasons why expats choose VPNs as a solution to reach their families in their home countries.

Is using a VPN in the UAE illegal?

The UAE’s regulator – the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) – has said that a VPN can be used by businesses, organizations and banks for internal purposes.

Although VPN use is not illegal in the country, there are some guidelines issued by the government and the regulator. Misusing a VPN for illegal activities or to commit an offense is a serious offense under the laws of the country. Moreover, using a VPN by hiding the IP address to access websites, calling apps and games that are banned by the UAE government is illegal.

β€œUsing a VPN in the UAE is not illegal if it is used in accordance with the guidelines of the UAE government and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority,” said Ashish Mehta, Managing Partner at Ashish Mehta & Associates.

Article 1 of the amended UAE Internet Law states that using β€œa fraudulent computer network protocol address using a fake address or a third party address by any other means for the purpose of committing a crime or preventing its discovery” is punishable by imprisonment and/or a fine of 500,000 to 2 million dirhams. dirhams.

waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com

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