Greater awareness of new laws among UAE's corporate community is critical, say panel speakers

Dubai Internet City (DIC) and Al Tamimi & Company, the UAE’s largest legal consultancy firm jointly hosted a seminar on the new Federal Legislation on Electronic Transactions and Commerce and Cyber Crimes on Monday, 12 June.

Speakers at the seminar said that there was low awareness of the new federal laws enacted recently to fill gaps in existing UAE legislation on Internet-related activities.

Federal Law No. 1 of 2006 concerning Electronic Transactions and Commerce Law and Federal Law No. 2 of 2006 (the Cyber Crime Law) were issued earlier this year under a decree of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The new laws lay the foundation for legitimising e-commerce and fighting misuse of cyberspace and new technologies.

"The federal laws reflect the UAE government’s commitment to provide legal protection for internet-related investments and ensure that the legal system meets the challenges of the digital economy," said Jamal Abdulsalam, Executive Director of Dubai Internet City. "Following the institution of these laws, it is important for enterprises to understand the implications of the new legislation. As we race to take advantage of the benefits that new technologies are bringing, we need to build our knowledge of how lesgislation can support us in creating a secure cyber environment," he added.

"Technology is always a step ahead and it is a challenge for regulation to keep pace with growth," said Hoda Barakat, Partner and Head of the Intellectual Property Department of the Al Tamimi Group. "The new laws represent a bold initiative from the UAE government. For the implementation of these laws to be effective, it is critical for the corporate community to be aware of their implications. Only then will the efficiency of the laws be tested," she added.

"The Federal laws have introduced a number of international standards while at the same time extended the relevance of existing laws to the electronic domain," said Samer Qudah, Senior Corporate Commercial and Information Technology Lawyer at Al Tamimi. "With the rising threat of cyber crimes, it is important to raise awareness about the legal recourse that companies have in the event of any incident."

"The new legislation provide a sound platform on which to build the regulatory framework," said Barakat. "The Law does not address some aspects of e-commerce and electronic transactions such as privacy, jurisdiction, data protection, domain names and decency. The UAE Government needs to promulgate more cyber laws to fill gaps in the existing legislation so that the legal system is able to meet the needs of the evolving digital economy," she added.

Dubai Internet City, in association with organisatins like Al Tamimi is seeking to constantly raise awareness of new laws as well as amendments in existing laws, especially those associated with IT and IP protection. Its efforts are part of its mission to promote the development of a comprehensive soft infrastructure for the ICT sector.

"Dubai Internet City has been working with government agencies to help shape new legislation that will support the emerging knowledge economy," said Jamal Abdulsalam, Executive Director of Dubai Internet City. "We are keen to encourage and support events like this conference that help regional organisations share new knowledge about IT-related legal issues. We need more seminars like these to help companies understand the implications of the new federal legislation and how it will assist them to operate in a secure and safe environment."