UAE Tightens Ban on VPNs with Jail Time, Fines of up to A $725,000

bluesky on 29/07/2016 - 17:59
Last edited 29/07/2016 - 18:08

Just a heads-up for fellow OZB travellers who might stop over in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the broader United Arab Emirates, and might use a VPN.

Just read this article which warns that UAE has tightened ban on VPNs with jail time, fines of up to A$725,000

The crucial bits of the article:

Travellers caught using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the broader United Arab Emirates could face fines of up to A$725,000 or even jail time under hardened laws introduced this month.
…
With the UAE barring a raft of online services including the voice and video calling features of Skype, Viber, FaceTime and Snapchat, VPNs were traditionally a great way to communicate with loved ones back home without being stung by global roaming fees or needing to buy a local UAE SIM card.
…
While the maximum fine stands at A$725,000 (AED2,000,000), even the minimum punishment of A$181,000 (AED500,000) if caught breaking the local laws will prove unaffordable to most – so you’ll want to rethink hitting that VPN switch while in the UAE.
…
Qantas, Virgin Australia, Emirates and Etihad Airways use the UAE as a springboard between Australia and Europe, with Sydney-Dubai representing Qantas’ flagship QF1 service and continuing through to London Heathrow.

Travel

Comments

    • bluesky on 30/07/2016 - 23:53

      Quite a few have expressed your sentiment, that is, just avoid UAE.

      My question is: what if you are just transiting? And better still, you won't even leave the airport, if possible (although this might be hard if the connecting flight is next day).

      Will you be safe, then? Can they search you while you are at the airport, and apply these laws - let's say you have codeine painkillers or melatonin on you. Are those who remain at airport and just transiting through exempt?

      Wish someone who knows can answer this. It might influence which airlines to take, just to bypass UAE, on the way to Europe, for instance.

      • McFly on 31/07/2016 - 01:02
        +2

        I think it's highly unlikely, but why take the chance, or support these despotic regimes in the first place.

      • [Deactivated] on 31/07/2016 - 02:46
        +1

        Yes they can search you and request a blood or urine sample.

        Source: A colleague was asked to provide a blood sample. So was this woman

        • altomic on 31/07/2016 - 12:27

          And they can do this in Australia as well.

        • [Deactivated] on 31/07/2016 - 14:59

          @altomic: of course but in Australia, they won't sentence you to a 4-year jail term if they find codeine in system.

        • [Deactivated] on 31/07/2016 - 23:19

          @Jar Jar Binks: *in your system.

  • dbun1 on 31/07/2016 - 11:27
    +2

    This seems a bit ridiculous considering many business people travelling would have a VPN to dial back into their office servers for file access etc.

    I travel there often for work, so it will be interesting to see if our corporate security issue any notices around this.

  • Plug on 31/07/2016 - 13:46
    -2

    Who would want to go to some backward ass medieval country with dodgy rules anyway? Delusions of grandeur and civility whilst merely being jumped up camel herders.

    • striker5950 on 31/07/2016 - 15:47
      +2

      you need to crawl out from that rock you been hiding under and see the world for your self instead of believing anything you read on the internet..

  • Cluster on 31/07/2016 - 14:02
    +7

    The problem with this law is that it's quite easy to detect a VPN: just monitor the connection and if traffic to one IP address is apparently random text for a while that will raise a flag. Trying to find out what the VPN is being used for is the hard part, so UAE has gone the much simpler route.

    It also makes arresting anyone undesirable to the government much easier under the pretense that you were hiding communication. Ever logged into a server using SSH? Guilty. Used a web site like ozbargain over HTTPS? Guilty.

    We may laugh or shake our heads at UAE for banning chat apps and encryption, but other governments are very keen to follow.

    UK:
    https://yro.slashdot.org/story/16/07/15/1438227/uk-gov-says-…

    USA:
    https://rietta.com/blog/2016/04/08/feinstein-burr-encryption…

    Russia:
    https://it.slashdot.org/story/16/07/12/2155254/vpn-provider-…

    Remember, only terrorists and other criminals need encryption. You can share your passwords and other login details with the government. Trust us. No one will ever abuse it.

  • cDNA on 31/07/2016 - 18:33
    -1

    Dubai is a nice place. PRetty expensive, though.

    The beaches are really lovely and lots of exotic babes live there.

  • Cluster on 31/07/2016 - 23:11
    +1

    I wonder, does UAE's new law ban Remote Desktop, TeamViewer, LogMeIn, and other remote control programs? They can all effectively function as a VPN to bypass government censorship and browse the Internet unmolested.

  • nikey2k27 on 01/08/2016 - 01:27

    There bunch of mad (profanity) over there in UAE

  • FatBlanket on 01/08/2016 - 08:47

    Nice one. What a lovely people.

  • cmdwedge on 01/08/2016 - 09:34
    +5

    Work email, Citrix sessions back to Australia, corporate VPN… What a freaking joke. I wish QF would return to HKG/SIN as their halfway point.

  • [Deactivated] on 01/08/2016 - 13:23

    And Australia will retaliate by becoming more PC.

  • kebabs on 01/08/2016 - 22:22
    +1

    Yeah, these arab barbarian states are backward shitholes, no matter how much oil money they use to shine their shit

  • Hirolol on 02/08/2016 - 16:28

    Please dont bring religion into the discussion…. Seriously?

    Are blackberries banned there too?
    Do they still have that top secret message encryption on their phones?

  • McFly on 12/08/2016 - 10:00
    +1

    Qantas et. al. need to decide whether human rights are more important than $$$ or vice-versa.

    http://time.com/4447749/transgender-gigi-gorgeous-dubai-deta…

    Canadian model Gigi Gorgeous said she was detained at Dubai airport for five hours Tuesday because she is transgender.

    This is not the first time and won't be the last.
    https://genderidentitywatch.com/2014/01/23/karen-mke-and-kam…

    Two transgender women from Brazil were detained and their passports confiscated while on vacation in Dubai.
    The court fined the Brazilian defendants, described as “38-year-old C.O. and 31-year-old I.S,” Dh10,000 [AU$3,500] each and ordered that they be deported.

  • bluesky on 19/08/2016 - 20:39

    Just read this … UK and Australian citizen Scott Richards held in Dubai …

    A 42-year-old man arrested in Dubai for sharing a charity post on his Facebook page has been charged.

    Scott Richards, who holds both British and Australian citizenship, promoted a charity drive to buy blankets and tarpaulins for refugees in Afghanistan

    Another item for the NOT-TO-DO list, if in Dubai …

  • McFly on 23/08/2016 - 11:46
    +1

    Found this useful site for anyone (thinking of) going to/through Dubai - www.detainedindubai.org/about.

    • bluesky on 23/08/2016 - 15:27

      Thanks for this useful info. I will pass this to some people I know, who due to work reasons etc, have to go through Dubai.

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