Internet users in the UAE may notice something different by the end of this month: fewer, but more uniformly, blocked websites. In other words, etisalat users won't be able to use the du network to get around web-filtering software, provided a new policy issued by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority works out as planned.

"The new policies will address any inconsistency arising from the actions that the operators take with regard to implementing the IAM policy," the TRA said in a statement. IAM stands for Internet Access Management.

du, in according with the UAE law, began blocking websites using what is called a web-filtering proxy in April. The result has been inconsistent filtering between the country's two internet service providers (ISP). As a result, the TRA, a government agency which sets the standards that dictate which websites get banned, is in the process of introducing a policy governing what gets blocked. It also announced it was allowing the two ISPs to unblock 1,000 previously-restricted websites, although it has not identified the websites or what criteria it will be using to determine the sites.

Dan Healy, who is the managing director of Real Opinions - a research company based in the UAE, said the decision is "encouraging." He said the ISP's proxy filters were having a direct impact on productivity, and gave the TRA a "positive thumbs up ... for re-evaluating the websites."

The TRA, in turn, has said it has always considered the interests and benefits of consumers throughout the formulation of the new policy, which laws are directed to protect internet users, "because we believe in the role of the internet as a primary means of acquiring knowledge."

As of Wednesday August 6th, etisalat said they had received the policy, but du could not be reached for comment. However, while etisalat has declined at this time to release information regarding the policy, the TRA said they were instructing the ISPs to provide links on the internet on how the keyword filtering works. The TRA has given the ISP time until August 29 to implement the new policy.

How does the filter work?

Internet users in the UAE may imagine the web-filtering as a big operation, but the process used by the telecoms is relatively simple.

It starts with the TRA, which instructs the two ISPs to monitor internet content based on keywords. The TRA says these keywords, which describe each and every single website, are mandatory by international laws. The ISPs are then required to have a proxy program that scans for keywords, which include: sex, terrorism, dating, drugs, alcohol, pornography and gambling, among others.

The TRA has also said it will block "criminal sites that provide specific instructions or methods of encouraging individuals to commit unlawful acts or criminals, phishing sites that aim to deceive users in order to obtain personal data such as user name and password for credit cards, or include harmful codes and information on special piracy programs, and websites that promote illegal drugs, pornography, gambling, as well as websites that include materials that reflect the hatred of divine religions and prophets in general, and sites that promote ideas of terrorism or supporting terrorism."

The TRA will also block sites that provide telephone services, such as Skype.

According to du's Fareed Faraidooni, executive vice-president, the company receives these keywords from the TRA and "implement them within 24 hours, as we have already invested in the infrastructure that enables us to filter the content of the World Wide Web."

Both ISPs use software, which has been developed by third-parties, to monitor the keywords.

"Commercially, the hardware and software that we have invested in operate with algorithms that filter content as per the guidelines given by the TRA. This is an automated process," Faraidooni said.

Abdul Rahman Al Mulla, vice-president of regulatory affairs, said etisalat does the same thing and "the process is completely automated."

He also said etisalat has a large database of websites separated into more than 90 categories, and "based on TRA guidelines, certain categories are blocked automatically. These categories are updated frequently (twice a week) due to the dynamic natures of changes related to internet contents."

However, the process is not foolproof, so an appeals process is built into the system.

"In the event of any site getting inadvertently blocked due to the nature of the filtering process, customers can either bring these to the attention of the TRA or us on our e-mail id: , and it will be unblocked if it is not offensive to the moral, cultural and social values of the UAE," Faraidooni said.

However, the ISP rarely makes the decision independently.

According to Al Mulla, "sites blocked on request from TRA can only be unblocked after obtaining the TRA approval. However, if a non-prohibited content website was noticed, then the website can be unblocked." If the user thinks that the site should not be blocked, he may fill in the feedback form available via the "contact us" link on the etisalat website. etisalat will then investigate and respond to the customer, he said.

The TRA, however, has the ultimately say over what gets blocked.

"If the ISPs were confused about whether to block/unblock a certain website, or received requests from entities for partial exemption of a certain website, they should not proceed with such matters without getting a prior approval from the TRA. To clarify this point; the TRA has the sole and absolute discretion to approve or decline any block or unblock requests that users escalate to their internet service provider, if such contents conflict with the regulation policy."

Ineffective strategy?

Reaction to news that the TRA could loosen its restriction has been warmly received, but some also expressed concern that the TRA methods for blocking malicious content is ineffective.

Justin Doo, the managing director of TrendMicro, a company that makes security software for internet users, has two reactions.

"As a parent, I'm quite happy that the web content is blocked in this environment," he said but added that blocking websites based on keywords is "a 20th century response to a 21st century threat."

Doo said the website filtering does have benefits, saying it is part of what a government can do to help protect against the malicious activity that is out their on the web, since the majority of malware attacks are now being increasingly web-based. Malware includes software such as Bots, which can allow hackers to gain control of a computer, or key-logger, which records what a user types and then sends that information to a hacker.

Websites in the "red-light" district of the internet also contains large amounts of malware. Doo estimates that 46 per cent of notable malware comes from adult sites. Adult content is often used as bait to attract users to sites containing malware. Any site that uses bait in hopes of downloading malware is called "honey pots."

There are also benefits to businesses for web-filtering, Doo said. Provided that proxy is being used for security purposes it can cut down on the amount of resources that IT departments have to allocate to prevent security issues, although proxy filters should not replace internal security software.

However, he lauded the opening up of previously blocked sites. "The TRA is commendable for releasing websites that doesn't seem to have any justification in being blocked," he said.

Inconsistency check

Despite the appeals process, Gulf News was able to identify three websites: twitter.com, friendfeed.com and ilike.com, which are blocked by etisalat but not by du.

etisalat claims these sites are blocked under the dating category, however, when the ISP was asked why those sites came under the dating category, the company said it was trying to reach the person who handled the software. He was located in Saudi Arabia.

Twitter is a popular site for microblogging. iLike is for people to share their interests in music, while friendfeed compiles user activities from other social networking sites, such as MySpace and Facebook.

A search of the keywords included in the sites did not include the word dating, but instead included such vague content keywords as "text" or nothing at all.

When asked how the filter software dealt with websites that either did not contain any content-relevant keyword or used just basic keywords such as "text," none of the operators was able or willing to provide an explanation. Both said that an explanation would have to be provided by the software company which handles the filtering software.

etisalat did not immediately respond to a request to speak to the company which manages the software, while du said that they could not release details on how the software handles that information.

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