Changes To VPN Law In The UAE?

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."