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Using VPN in UAE Could Cost You $545,000 (businessinsider.com)

Posted by msmash on from the they-call-the-shots dept.

An anonymous reader writes: The President of the United Arab Emirates has issued a series of new federal laws relating to IT crimes, including a regulation that forbids anyone in the UAE from making use of virtual private networks to secure their web traffic from prying eyes. The new law states that anyone who uses a VPN or proxy server can be imprisoned and fined between $136,000-$545,000 if they are found to use VPNs fraudulently. Previously, the law was restricted to prosecuting people who used VPNs as part of an internet crime, but UK-based VPN and privacy advocate Private Internet Access says that the law has now changed to enable police in the UAE to go after anyone who uses VPNs to access blocked services, which is considered to be fraudulent use of an IP address.

14 of 109 comments (clear)

  1. that's by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    freaking scary. Of course, the good ol' U.S.A. will never get that scary. Not ever. Not even in the next 5 years or so. Never.

    1. Re:that's by ganjadude · · Score: 2, Insightful

      we have been, the difference is there is real scandal with clinton and the DNC, right now the morons are freaking out over a sarcastic remark, and calling him a sexist for telling a reporter who wouldnt shut up and let him speak to shut up....non issues

      im not voting for trump, but the sad truth is trump and "trump" are 2 different people. one the real person and the other a troll created by faux media outrage. the attacks on him only make him stronger

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    2. Re:that's by houstonbofh · · Score: 2

      If your think the DNC is scary, you haven't been looking at the republican nominee.

      He is at least still trying to hide it. The DNC is banking on no one caring.

    3. Re:that's by Grishnakh · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You don't think the RNC is doing the same stuff? They're both corrupt, don't delude yourself.

      No, actually, I don't. Or if they are, they're not very effective at it, because if they were, Trump wouldn't be the nominee now. It's been no secret at all that the RNC does not like Trump, and never wanted him to be their nominee. They wanted Jeb! or Little Marco or Lyin' Ted. Blowhard Trump was not at all what they wanted, but because they weren't remotely as effective in rigging things as the DNC, that's what they got.

      Trump even used their new winner-takes-all primaries rules against them, which is how he got so many delegates. They only enacted those new rules recently so they could avoid brokered conventions, but it blew up in their faces, with Trump winning the nomination with a minority of votes. It probably didn't help that the media gave so much free air-time to Trump just because he was such a spectacle, and perhaps also because they (correctly) reasoned that with Hillary to be coronated by the DNC, that her only chance of winning the general election was if Trump was the nominee.

      So sure, the RNC may be "corrupt" too, but completely inept corruption just isn't a problem the way competent corruption is.

    4. Re:that's by Grishnakh · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Why should I give a shit about the President being xenophobic, racist, etc.? The important thing to me is if they're going to start another war like Bush did. There's every indication that Hillary will do just this, probably in Syria. With Trump, who knows. He's been playing the nationalist and isolationist card, and saying some nice things about Putin, so it seems much less likely; more likely, he'll tell Putin to do whateverTF he wants in Syria as long as it results in ISIS being obliterated, as that's the *only* thing I've heard him say in favor of any kind of interventionism. Hillary, by contrast, has a long history of supporting interventionism.

      If that means I have to put up with a "xenophobe" in the White House to avoid thousands of Americans being killed in yet another stupid war in the middle east, I'm OK with that.

      And if you think Hillary isn't also narcissistic, I've got a bridge to sell you.

    5. Re:that's by sjames · · Score: 2

      It's not like they didn't try. It's just that they've been serving up turd sandwich for so long, giant douche looked like a breath of fresh air and Trump had enough money to render the usual bag of dirty tricks ineffective.

  2. Coming to your country too by 110010001000 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you don't think this will come to YOUR country, you are mistaken. Eventually everyone will need to connect to the Internet using only approved devices and software. You don't think this is possible? It is technically possible to do. It will be done in the name of piracy/terrorism/children/et al.

  3. Re:Corporate VPNs too? by houstonbofh · · Score: 2

    It says in the summery! "the law has now changed to enable police in the UAE to go after anyone who uses VPNs to access blocked services, which is considered to be fraudulent use of an IP address." You do not even need to click the link!

  4. Re:Corporate VPNs too? by bev_tech_rob · · Score: 3, Informative

    ...and how does one define the use of VPNs fraudulently? Not very enlightened or informed.

    According to the article (which I assume you read), use of a VPN fraudulently would be connecting to blocked services in the country in question, like Snapchat, WhatsApp, etc. that have VOIP capabilities.

    The government is basically protecting the revenues of the state telecoms that are threatened by this technology...and oh yeah, 'security'.

    --
    You're messin' with my Zen Thing, man.....
  5. Well that's OK then by clickclickdrone · · Score: 2

    Still, they buy an awful lot of our weapons so we'll just keep on turning a blind eye to all this stuff.

    --
    I want a list of atrocities done in your name - Recoil
  6. Re:Free Markets by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Care to inform us what genuinely free countries remain? My bags are packed, I'm just looking for a destination.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  7. Re:Trump same shit since McCarthy. by schwit1 · · Score: 2
    Failures by president Trump will have the MSM reporting every detail on the front page.

    Failures by president Clinton will be pushed to Saturday nights and the back page, if it's reported at all.

  8. Re:Free Markets by TsuruchiBrian · · Score: 2

    Well the concept of a country implies a government which is inherently authoritarian. If you want genuine freedom, you need to live in a territorial anarchy. There are several uninhabited islands that are effectively anarchies, even if there are nations that claim nominally ownership of them. You can live your whole life there without anyone ever knowing. And if a government does come to evict you, you have the option of moving somewhere else, or attempting to defend yourself with deadly force.

  9. Airports? Dubai? Abu Dhabi? by NotAPK · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Does anyone know if this will apply to use of VPNs while at the Dubai or Abu Dhabi airports?

    I fly through there regularly and as part of my standard policy I always use a VPN on unknown networks.

    It would really suck to be laying over for a couple of hours and being picked up by the cops while surfing the net.

    I also wonder how this will impact the many foreign contractors who must visit regularly and need VPN access back to head office.

    Any thoughts? Or is this just another pointless unenforceable law?