Social media implications towards United Arab Emirates National Security

Social media implications towards United Arab Emirates National Security

UAE government has been keen to recognizing the use of social media in improving and shaping the progress of the country. This positive aspect is considered the main reason why the government is proactive to allow the use of social media in enabling people to share their views and ideas. Unfortunately, the use of the social media has also been faced with numerous criticisms considering the government has seen the negative impact arising from the use of this technology. As Al Otaiba (2014) notes, the government has been keen to recognize that in as far as it is a positive ideology that may be effective in fashioning a communicative and associative platform, there are some individuals using the platform with their own interests hence threatening the state of security in the nation. This outline will seek to point out these negative effects and the overall impact social media has towards the national security of the UAE. The paper will also offer some legal position in regards to this matter.

Negative Implications of using the Social Media

According to Salem (2014), individuals misusing the social platform may be referred to as the “enemies of the country” as they have ill intentions of the country. He notes that on various occasions these individuals make political posts that incline towards raising the social turmoil of the country as opposed to using these platforms to communicate and create social bonds. This is one notable way through which they raise the tension in the country by creating imbalance with the comments they make to mislead the public. In other occasions, other individuals such as the terrorist have been noted to raise insecurity tension by spreading rumors that are against the ethics of the country.

One notable instance is when an online claim was made against the tensions that were happening in Egypt spilling over to UAE (Ghannam, 2011). While this is a total lie, the public is unsure whether the government is still capable of ensuring security. Another significant negative impact of using the social media arises when different individuals make posts that are in contravention with the moral code and the beliefs of the UAE people. In such instances, the culprits intend to create a negative image to the foreigners about events or holidays advising them to perform activities that are not up to the expectation of the UAE society. Such actions bring chaos both to the nation’s traditions and the level of association with the foreigners.

The View of the Law

The UAE law is very specific on incidences such as this and the repercussions that would befall individuals caught raising such tensions. Under the UAE’s federal, decree number five, individuals caught causing or raising cybercrimes and public panic are liable to their actions. Further, Article 29 of the nation’s law claims that should a person be found guilty, they may receive a fine not exceeding one million Dirham (Emirates 24/7, 2014).

Measures to Curb Such Incidences

The UAE government has been proactive in setting up measures that would prevent the negative impacts of using the social media spilling over to being a matter national security. One notable measure is the setting up of educational camps with the aim of creating awareness especially to the youth. In other capacities, various ministries such as the Interior and UAE police are keen to establish web portals and creating councils that will update the public in the various Emiratis on how to handle such cases.