Uncertainty about exactly what the law does and does not allow on any given topic is rarely a good thing, as the confusion about the use of virtual private networks has demonstrated. The overwhelming majority of people in this country just want to obey the rules as they go about their daily lives, but that is difficult if they are unaware of exactly where the line lies between what is legal and what is not.
However there is little room for confusion in the statement of Humaid Aldarmaki, of the Abu Dhabi Public Prosecution Office, when he explained that using a blocked VOIP internet-calling service, such as Apple's FaceTime or Google Voice, was illegal. "If a person uses VPN to make calls that are not available for users," he explained in a written response to The National's questions, "they will be punished according to the cybercrime law rulings and telecommunications regulatory law."
The law appears to safeguard the UAE’s two telecom companies, Etisalat and du, whose metered international call services might otherwise be in competition with VOIP services that offer essentially the same thing for free. Now it could be argued that voice calls are a 20th-century fixation and the future of all telecoms companies lies in selling data packages. So by allowing VOIP services, they will make money on selling the internet access to those who use them.
There is a further point to be made about how this law sits uncomfortably with the UAE’s aspiration to become a knowledge economy, and particularly to be a regional hub for high-tech industries. In similar tech hubs all over the world, VOIP services are a standard mode of communication. Their absence here may offset the many natural advantages of the UAE in this sector, which includes the “brain gain” of attracting the best and brightest from across the Middle East and North Africa, the lack of income tax and the advanced infrastructure.
One might wonder if Etisalat and du would be better served by changing their focus and embracing newer technologies than standard phone services. The benefit for data providers is that the more people use the internet – whether to make VOIP calls or for any other legitimate use – the more data they will consume and this will lead to higher earnings. In doing so, our telecoms companies could help establish this country as a major tech industry hub.