There have been reports in the press during the course of last week that the law concerning the use of VPNs has changed. In some online publications it has been incorrectly stated that the use of VPNs in the UAE is now illegal.

To clarify:

  • The legal position regarding the use of VPNs in the UAE has not changed. Specifically it was and remains an offence under Article 9 of the Cybercrime Law (Federal Law No. 5 of 2012) to use a VPN to commit a crime, or to try to prevent its discovery. This has been the case since the Cybercrime Law was introduced in August of 2012.
  • The Telecoms Regulatory Authority (TRA) in the UAE issued a public statement on 1 August 2016 confirming that "there are no regulations which prevent the use of VPN technology by companies, institutions and banks to access their internal networks through internet. However, business users can be held accountable, like the use of any other technology, if it has been misused."
  • The confusion surrounding the impact of Law No. 12 of 2016 seems to have emanated from inaccurate reporting on some foreign news websites. It seems that these inaccurate reports were spotted and shared by members of the public on social media.
  • Law No. 12 of 2016 does increase the penalties for breaching Article 9 of the Cybercrime Law. Previously the potential fines ranged from AED 150,000 to AED 500,000. Now they have been increased to any amount from AED 500,000 to AED 2 million. This is in addition to a potential custodial sentence, which existed previously.
  • The increase in the level of fine signifies that the UAE Government considers any breach of Article 9 of the Cybercrime Law to be a serious matter. Whether the change in the level of fine will result in an increase in prosecutions remains to be seen.
  • Using a VPN to commit an offence gives rise to a risk of prosecution. Examples of crimes that may be committed using a VPN include the following:
    • accessing gambling services;
    • accessing obscene materials; and
    • watching / listening to content that is not licensed for use in the UAE which, depending on the circumstances could constitute copyright infringement.
  • To date there have been no public reports of an individual being prosecuted for committing an offence when using a VPN for personal, non-commercial purposes. However, we cannot rule out the possibility of enforcement action being taken in these circumstances in future.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.