Dubai free zone will no longer have unfettered Internet access

By: Helmi Noman on 11 February 2007
Posted in United Arab Emirates, Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Internet companies and users in Dubai free zone will go through filtered Internet this year, reported the Gulf News. Currently more than 500 companies based in the free zone enjoy unfettered Internet access unlike the rest of the country. UAE's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) plans to extend its filter into the free zone which includes Dubai Media City and Dubai Internet City as well as the residential areas affiliated with the free zone.

The TRA will exempt companies "with a legitimate interest in keeping unfettered internet access".

The ONI has previously analyzed the legal and technological restrictions on Internet access in UAE