Legal VPN law

The laws governing Virtual Private Networking in the UAE are not as transparent and open as those in other countries. There is a lack of awareness among residents as to the extent of their privacy rights. This means that when you surf the web, certain private information about you including your location, IP address, cookie files and even credit card details can be accessed by others. If you want to surf the web securely and do business online then you need to use a VPN. But what is legal vpn in uae and how do we know if we have legal access to the internet?

UAE Law covers both private individuals and businesses who use technology to mask their data. The more obvious reason for using a VPN is to surf the web using a different IP address. A virtual private network works just like a dedicated private network but with the difference that the IP address of the devices is changed so that your personal information is shielded. All your activities on the internet, including logging on to websites and sending e-mails are effectively anonymous because no connection between you and the server is established.

But what happens if your privacy rights are infringed upon when you are using a VPN? When there is a breach of security and sensitive personal data gets leaked, it is possible for a lawsuit to be filed. Personal data can include any financial or bank account numbers, credit card numbers, user names and passwords. The law in UAE does not make this data available to non-governmental and other third parties who may use it for fraud.

But there is an issue with the law. The law is actually an attempt to balance the rights of the private network users against the legitimate needs of the state. In other words, it tries to balance the need for security against the rights of privacy. For instance, a UAE lawyer has argued in a legal forum that the law is inconsistent with the principle of public service.

The argument goes like this: If the private network providers have a legitimate need to protect their networks from illegal access and abuse, why should the government interfere in this process? According to this view, the law cannot be applied to force companies to monitor and block certain content. Similarly, the law is also seen as trumping the rights of citizens to privacy. Therefore, it is believed that the UAE's VPN law cannot be used to impose restrictions on people's lawful activities.

There is hope, though. A UAE attorney has filed a case in the High Court challenging the legality of the law. It is expected that the court will hear the case later this year. In the mean time, every internet user in the country must consider how to protect his or her data from the reach of this law.