16 April, 2007

40% of the Internet is blocked in the UAE

According to media luminary Abdul Latif Al Sayegh:

“The internet blockage rate [of unwanted material] in the UAE has reached 40 per cent that is among the highest in the world.”

Al Sayegh’s remarks came at a conference on Emirates Media Freedom at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi.

Not really something for the nation to be proud of, is it?

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

When flickr has been blocked, what else is left not to be blocked ?

Anonymous said...

Time to block the rest etisalat... lets go!

Seabee said...

The stone-age speed they give us means there's much more than that we can't access, there simply aren't enough hours in the day to sit waiting for sites to connect.

John B. Chilton said...

Seabee, Just imagine if users could download all the naughty material out there on the net. Your service would be brought to less than stoneage. They're actually increasing the value of their service to you by making the net less valuable to those users. Isn't that thoughtful?

Anonymous said...

No this is by far over-estimation 40% of the internet. Give me a break! Google has not been blocked as far as I know and they index over 100 billion pages. you want to tell me that 40% of this number is blocked !! it cannot be done.

I am with Etisalat in blocking porn but I think they can do better by educating people, but not with them in blocking web 2.0 websites like Flikr or even the one that ends with Israel domain "il"; there are universities and colleges in Israel that they publish research that is really world-renowned why are we limiting ourselves to domain like the one ends with "sd".

Please people if you are really bored , get a book or an ebook or whatever you are read and read it instead of throwing baseless numbers.

Anonymous said...

It's good to block the internet. Why do you need flickr when you can watch girls in bikini at Jumeirah? Didn’t you see labors sitting there for hours to watch pretty beach goers? There must be something in it.
Why do you need porn? When you can easily see it Live in Cyclone. Try to use natural products instead of junk.
Didn’t your father tell you that you have to be stupid if you are willing to be a rich man? Dubai is the city of business. To do business you have to look good, talk good, have lots of goods and come from a good nationality. There is no knowledge based internet in it.
Also, Geeks don’t look good nor talk good. Most of them are not from a good nationality too.
To make money, to sell our properties and have a strong economy, we don’t need flickr, we don’t need blogger, and we don’t need skyper. But for the sake of showing off our achievements in IT, let’s keep Dubai Police website open, so people can pay their fines there.

Lirun said...

i think that makes blogs like this all the more important.. to ensure that the world has a window to you and visa versa

Anonymous said...

So the problem is not Etisalat, it is people. According to the guy above, he says that "Why do you need flickr when you can watch girls in bikini at Jumeirah? Didn’t you see labors sitting there for hours to watch pretty beach goers? There must be something in it."

Educating people is far more difficult, Etisalat can't play this role alone but at least it is trying,I gave credit for Etisalat on that.

Knowledge base economy in a rich country is not completely impossible. It is impossible only on those minds who doubt it.

I am with blocking Skype and any VOIP service that doesn't operate from UAE, yes I am completely nuts. Reason: some websites in the United States where I am blogging now have some restrictions (legal restrictions) too example JumpTV stations are blocked here because JumpTV is Canadian and it hurts Bell Communication(Dish network)business which operates in the United States. Skype limitless boundary business causes problem for the local economy (UAE economy) and it is unlawful to operate in UAE (period).

Skype should really be really sued in the United States and it should be blocked as well. Etisalat is a a moron for not doing that.

jummy bear said...

i must say i love anon comments the best :)

Anonymous said...
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samuraisam said...

Nassir Alameeri: Fuck off.

Nader said...

Perl of Dubai has some interesting things to tell about the event. This is more info about the event:
http://pearlofdubai.blogspot.com/

Thanks, Jummy, I will keep them coming (:

B.D. said...

I second the motion that there is too much blockage, sort of like throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Let's hope the powers that be that control this thing won't forever remain the power. It just takes getting someone pragmatic in there, like those who run most of everything else in Dubai.

B.D. said...

Just like to add, why do you think the new Dubai communities have had unfettered internet access for the past few years? There's a different power running the show there. If they had their way over the whole country, blocking would be a thing of the past. As it stands, however, the power behind Etisalat has already said that Du will have to conform to Etisalat's policy and not the other way around. Let's just hope they don't get their way.

Grumpy Goat said...

Can we please try to keep the levels of profanity down on this blog?

Thank you for your co-operation.

secretdubai said...

grumpy goat - given it was the three billy goats gruff who killed the troll under the bridge, I hereby appoint you Chief Troll Slayer ;)

Anonymous said...

ya know i think ,nay i believe, nothing should be forbidden!

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...
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secretdubai said...

ABIT - why are you doing this? It's hardly the behaviour of someone who has frequently claimed to be an observant muslim.

If you hate us and hate this place, then go away and pray for our souls or something.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Wow... 40 % , that's a lot though.

maybe 40 % of the worlds more popular websites, and then again.

For a country that calls itself one of the more advanced ones..

Karachiite said...

why the h*** is flickr blocked????????

that is reallyu bad.. sum time ago, orkut was banned too.. why dont hey do anything to ban those weird communites in orkut, that are reralted to sick adults of dubai..???

Woke said...

I miss Etisalats homepage these days. I must have a screenshot somewhere for old times sake :d

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