Telecom authority responds to VPN use rumours

8 years ago | Posted in: Laws, Technology | 819 Views

Dubai: The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of the UAE on Monday responded to social media rumours regarding Virtual Private Network (VPN) saying companies are free to use it.

In a statement posted on social media, the TRA said there is no regulation that prevents VPN used by companies, institutions and banks to gain access to internal networks via the internet.

“But using it for the purpose of manipulating internet protocols with the intent to commit any fraud or crime is punishable by law,” it said.

Meanwhile, UAE residents told Gulf News that there are reasons why they have been using VPN over the years. They use VPN to access blocked apps that offer video chat and voice call services. They also said that the public should be allowed to continue using VPN.

Abdullah Z., a Jordanian accountant, said he uses VPN to access apps like Viber and Skype to call his brother, who studies in Turkey, and also to watch series not made available here.

“International calls are expensive here and I need to be able to check on him regularly. These apps are blocked in the UAE. I also need VPN to watch certain series online, which are never broadcast here because of violence and certain degrees of sexual content,” he said.

He believes most people in the UAE also use VPN to access the international version of sites such as the Apple store in the UK and US, where certain music albums, that have not been made available here, can be downloaded.

“I recently used it to download the game Pokemon Go, as it still hasn’t been officially launched in the UAE. I think it’s OK for VPN to be used, but with certain limits, of course. If someone is using it for fraud or has a criminal intention, then they should definitely be punished by law, but if people are using it for social and entertainment purposes, it should be allowed.”.. see more

source: gulfnews

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