Social networking hot topic at majlis

The dangers posed by social networking sites to children require people to set up a stringent monitoring mechanism in the UAE, said Dubai Police chief Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim. The Dubai police chief recommended on Wednesday at his annual Ramadan majlis that a team comprising the police, phone companies and the Ministry of Interior should be set up after Eid to monitor social networks for use of pornography, particularly child pornography. In a special majlis at Lt Gen Dahi's residence on Jumeirah Beach Road, businessmen, telecommunications officials, police officials, clerics and regular citizens gathered to discuss the effects of social networks on society. The discussion, which started with the dangers of social networks, quickly deviated to the consumption and distribution of pornography among youth, with speakers calling for a crackdown on the trend. Ali Al Ahmad, Chief Corporate Communications Officer at etisalat, tried to explain the limitations and difficulties of general monitoring of pornography consumption, explaining that only tracking of individuals was possible. Lt Gen Dahi however insisted that individual tracking should be employed against the gravest offenders. "If they are found to be Muslim, we can use religion to convince them to leave these habits," said Lt Gen Dahi. Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, prominent businessman and speaker of the Federal National Council, said the private sector would be willing to sponsor the costs of such an endeavour. Sultan Suood Al Qasimi, an Emirati commentator and Twitter personality, was the sole youth voice. He argued that parents should start using social networking tools. He highlighted the danger posed by children sharing personal information on social networks, particularly warning about "geo-tagging", a social media tool which allows users to post their exact location with the use of global positioning systems (GPS) or IP locating technology. This could facilitate robberies or be used by child predators, he warned. Speakers agreed that it was important to make a distinction between the positive and negative aspects of the internet. Islamic cleric Dr Ahmad Al Haddad said that while some monitoring of social network use was necessary, it was also important for parents to instil good values in their children.