The result of a widely publicised court case last week has made me conclude, not for the first time, that the implementation of our cybercrimes legislation could benefit from some review. Some of the cases that come to court – or, at least, the way in which they are reported – do neither the country, nor the law, nor the individuals involved any credit.
Last week’s case involved an argument between two brothers. One had posted a picture of the other on social media, with an insulting caption. The brother whose picture was posted made an official complaint, and the law then took its course, with his sibling receiving a prison sentence and a fine.
Was it really necessary for this to go to court? What efforts were made to persuade the offended brother to drop the idea of pursuing his complaint through the courts?
Not long ago there was another court case, widely reported overseas, involving a complaint by a husband that his wife had accessed the data on his mobile phone without permission. She was found guilty. She may well have been – and I am in no way questioning the nature of the judgment reached on the basis of the facts presented to the court. But are the courts the right place for this kind of marital dispute?
There are many other incidents in which the use or misuse of social media has led to court cases between members of the same family.
A year ago today in this newspaper, the head of the family prosecution service in Abu Dhabi noted that an increasing number of people were being ordered to leave the country because they had insulted their spouse on messaging platforms such as WhatsApp.
I am not privy to the details of the cases, or to the nature of the insults used. But were all possible efforts to reach a resolution of the arguments between husband and wife made before their personal disagreements were brought to court?
Another social media case last year involved an expatriate who had taken a picture of a car parked across two disabled parking spots and, obscuring the number plate, had posted it on Facebook with an insulting caption.
The car’s owner, also an expatriate, had complained to the police. Once that had been done, the law has to take its course, even if the complaint is withdrawn. Following her conviction, deportation of the guilty party was automatic. Was the punishment disproportionate?
Over the last few years, information technology, in all its various forms, has developed at an incredible speed. That has been of benefit in many ways – and we certainly would find it hard to live today without it. At the same time, new ways of engaging in criminal activity, such as identity theft or money laundering, have emerged, while offences such as defamation and libel have become not only easier, but more damaging, given the speed with which they can spread.
It was right to introduce new legislation to cover the misuse of IT, and the 2012 Federal Anti-Information Technology Crimes Law has much within it to be commended.
I do wonder, though, whether the way in which it is being used to rule upon what are, in essence, private and personal arguments is in need of review. Cases such as those I have mentioned divert attention away from the key issues, of real criminality, that the law was designed to address.
As time passes, people will learn to be more careful about what they post on social media – and that would certainly be a good idea. Statements designed to promote hatred and extremism will attract severe punishment, and that is right.
But prison sentences, heavy fines and deportation are perhaps not the most suitable method for dealing with personal arguments and a few ill-chosen words, whether between brother and brother, or between husband and wife, or between strangers. There is, surely, a better way.
Peter Hellyer is a consultant specialising in the UAE’s history and culture
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
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