Last orders! Time called on Dubai’s porn, dating and booze access

After years of free-spirited, online hedonism, life for residents of Emaar and Nakheel properties - and those working in Dubai’s Media and Internet Cities - is about to get a whole lot duller. Du is blocking porn, gambling and alcohol-related content.

The move is aimed at bringing Du into line with the UAE’s internet guidelines, with Du’s service now coming under the UAE’s proxy server for the first time. Etisalat, which covers much of the country, has banned such content for years.

The ban was due to start today (April 14) but appears to be taking some time to crank into gear. After ten minutes of Kipp browsing, the only site found to be blocked was the Secret Dubai blog, written by an expat journalist no longer resident in Dubai. The site does not feature booze, drugs, pornography or terrorism, but is often critical of the running of Dubai.

For a short while at least, surfers can enjoy Weed Guru (featuring advice on how to build the perfect spliff), avail themselves of a free $50 bet at one of the UK’s leading bookmarkers, William Hill, and browse for dates in Dubai at Sladurana. The 36-year-old Respectable4444 is currently looking for love.

If it’s flesh you want, Hooters and Original Hooters are still available, and very much at the tamer end of the scale. UAE Prison is still up, providing a critical view of the country’s legal capabilities.

The next week should make clear how serious Du is in enforcing the ban. On the one side the company can’t afford to be seen as not upholding the cultural integrity of the UAE; on the other, residents of the freezones will wonder why they can’t continue to quietly go about their browsing. Respectable4444 will need to find new avenues to true love.