The Ministry of Economy (MoE) announced that over 1,000 websites have been blocked in the UAE this year for violating intellectual property rights through unauthorized broadcasting of entertainment content owned by various media networks. During Ramadan, a surge in demand for multimedia content led to the blocking of the majority of these illegal websites, as stated by Dr. Abdulrahman Hassan Al Muaini, assistant undersecretary for Intellectual Property Rights Sector at the Ministry of Economy.
Dr. Al Muaini highlighted the success of the ‘InstaBlock’ initiative, implemented during Ramadan, in blocking a total of 1,117 websites that infringed upon intellectual property rights by illegally broadcasting entertainment content owned by various media networks. This marks a significant increase from 2023, when only 62 sites were blocked.
According to Dr. Al Muaini, the substantial rise in the number of blocked websites this year demonstrates the effective development of a comprehensive approach that provides specialized instant response services for addressing complaints related to copyright infringements in live online broadcasting.
Moreover, Dr. Al Muaini informed Khaleej Times that the ‘InstaBlock’ initiative will transition into a year-round programme.
