The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Interior has launched an online campaign against the promotion of illegal drugs on social media.
In a tweet on Tuesday, Lt-Gen Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, posted a video of the campaign showing how rampant illegal drug offers are online such as in Whatsapp.
#شاركنا_لنمنعها تهدف الحملة لمكافحة الرسائل الترويجية للمواد المخدرة والمؤثرات العقلية، والتي تصل من خارج الإمارات عبر منصات التواصل الاجتماعي، فلنكافح تلك الرسائل ولنحافظ جميعنا على الأسر ومجتمع الإمارات، نشكر شركائنا في شركة ميتـا لتعاونهم وحرصهم على سلامة المجتمعات. pic.twitter.com/eZPvMsyWLe
— سيف بن زايد آل نهيان (@SaifBZayed) May 16, 2023
The video also reminded the public to be alert and active in putting a stop on the spread of those messages.
Moreover, Brig-Gen Abdul Rahman Al Owais, deputy director-general of the Federal Anti-Narcotics Department bared that it is collaborating with the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence in utilizing AI to identify the source of illegal acts.
Meanwhile, Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, shared in the video that AI has the capabilities to monitor illegal activities.
For his part, Anas Metwally, Meta GCC policy lead, stressed that encryption measures are incorporated in WhatsApp to protect user data.
