Effectiveness of Cyberbullying Prevention Strategies in the UAE

Abstract

The ever rising Internet of Things, rapid globalization and technology advancement have created a valuable seamless platform for folks to interact, publish and share contents online over high-speed connections regardless of location and distance. Nonetheless, several benefits, proliferation of vigor and anonymity of the Internet create a permanent breeding ground for all forms of cyber threats globally and the UAE in particular including all sorts of online crime like sexual harassment, deception, cyborgs, compromised safety and fraudulent engagements among others leading to manipulation of user credentials, perceptions, exposure to offensive content, financial losses, psychological and physical harm. In this paper, we examine a variety of Cyberbullying offensive and preventive strategies available globally giving particular attention to the UAE, examine the phenomena of risky Internet use of ICT tools and its relationship to Cyberbullying and assess the effectiveness of existing anti-Cyberbullying strategies used in the UAE. The findings and recommendations of the paper can be useful to government policy-maker and online crime regulators who intend to effectively curb Cyberbullying in the region.