Online Reputation Management in Dubai: Removal, Dubai Police and the Courts

Most of the work happens outside Dubai's institutions, because the content sits on global platforms. A Google review, an Instagram account, a TikTok video, a Telegram channel or a Reddit thread comes down, if at all, through the company that runs it, under its own policies. RepuLex prepares those reports for Google, Meta (Facebook and Instagram), X, YouTube, TikTok, Telegram, Reddit and review sites, and follows each one up until the platform decides.

Three specialist services are written for Dubai clients: executive reputation management in Dubai for founders, chief executives and family offices; online crisis management in Dubai for the first days of a story, with factual, editorial responses only; and Wikipedia page and Knowledge Panel work in Dubai, where Wikipedia and Google, not any agency, decide what appears. Where the question is what an AI assistant says about you, see AI reputation management in the UAE.

For a business, reviews are often the first concern. RepuLex acts on reviews that break a platform's rules or UAE law, not on honest reviews because they are negative; negative Google reviews and UAE law explains where the line sits for the reviewer and for the business.

Dubai Police describes the service as enabling the public to submit complaints related to electronic fraud and cybercrimes. It lists the completion time as instant, which describes the submission, not the investigation. The listed contacts are the call centre on 901 and mail@dubaipolice.gov.ae; in an emergency, call 999.

The old ecrime.ae address now forwards to the Dubai Police cybercrime page, which offers separate options for tourists and residents. Use that page or the official Dubai Police app, not a third-party site that offers to file for you. How to report cyber crime in the UAE covers the federal channels too, including the Ministry of Interior eCrimes platform.

For insult and slander, the complaint has to come from the right person. A criminal action for these offences needs a complaint by the victim, a representative or an attorney under a special power of attorney, filed with the Public Prosecution or a judicial police officer (Articles 11 and 12 of the Criminal Procedures Law, Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of 2022). It is not admitted after three months from when the victim becomes aware of the crime and its perpetrator. Take advice within three months of learning of the post and who made it; we have not found a primary text settling whether that limit also governs the online offence in Article 43 of the Cybercrime Decree-Law, so treat it as the deadline.

A criminal defamation case is brought by the prosecution once the complaint is made, and is heard in the onshore criminal courts. A civil claim for compensation starts at the Court of First Instance. Under the Civil Transactions Law, Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025, in force since 1 June 2026, an infringement on reputation is moral harm (Article 254(1)), compensation is assessed on the loss suffered and the loss of profit (Article 255), and the court may, at the injured party's request, order the performance of a specific matter related to the harmful act (Article 256(2)). A claim is inadmissible after three years from when the injured party learned of the damage and of the person responsible, and never more than fifteen years after the harmful act (Article 258). Defamation compensation in the UAE explains how compensation is assessed and what courts have awarded, as reported in the press.

Arabic is the official language of the courts under Article 5(1) of the Civil Procedure Code, Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2022, and anyone who does not speak it is heard through a sworn interpreter; under Article 5(2), the head of a local judicial body may designate English for certain specialised tribunals or proceedings. Only a lawyer recorded in the Roll of Practicing Lawyers may represent you before the courts and the Public Prosecution (Article 6(2) of Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2022 Regulating the Legal Profession and Legal Consultation Profession), and licensed non-national lawyers are excluded from criminal proceedings (Article 10). How to file a defamation case in Dubai sets out the complaint and the claim step by step.

The offences themselves are federal. Defamation in UAE law sets out each one and its penalty, and why truth is not a defence in the UAE explains why a true statement about a private person or a company can still be an offence.

The DIFC Courts were established under Dubai Law No. 12 of 2004, as amended by Dubai Law No. 16 of 2011. All hearings are conducted in English and all documents must be submitted in English. Any civil or commercial case in which both parties select the DIFC Courts' jurisdiction can be heard there.

For a reputation matter, that means two things. A criminal complaint about a post does not go to the DIFC Courts; it goes to Dubai Police or the Public Prosecution. A civil claim could be heard there only if it falls within their jurisdiction: a case arising out of the DIFC, or one both sides agree in writing to bring there. If you have a contract with the other side, ask your lawyer whether it already says which court hears disputes.

Under Article 33(2) of the DIFC Data Protection Law, a data subject may require erasure where the processing is no longer necessary, where consent is withdrawn and there is no other lawful basis, where the processing is unlawful, or where they object and there are no overriding legitimate grounds. Under Article 33(3), the controller must comply only if one of those conditions applies and it is not required to keep the data by law or for the establishment or defence of legal claims. According to a law-firm summary that we have not checked against the amended text, a 2025 amendment added a private right of action through the DIFC Courts, in a new Article 64A; confirm it with a lawyer before relying on it.

Outside the free zones, Article 15 of the Personal Data Protection Law, Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021, gives a right to correction or erasure, subject to exceptions, and no Executive Regulations had been published as of 19 October 2026. We found no UAE statute or published UAE judgment giving a right to have a search engine de-list a result. The right to be forgotten in the UAE compares the two laws and Google's own routes.

The table gives the starting point for common problems, the provision that usually applies and the part RepuLex plays. Two of them have guides of their own: a fake Instagram account in your name and removing a news article about you. For a threat to publish photos or chats, read online blackmail in the UAE first.

RepuLex works on published fixed fees per URL, paid in advance and refunded in full for any URL not removed within its agreed timeline, as long as the documents and authority requested for that URL have been supplied. It offers a non-disclosure agreement before any case discussion. The steps below show who acts at each point.

These questions apply to every provider, RepuLex included. The full set of tests, with the law behind each one, is on the page on online reputation management in the UAE.

If you are visiting, report before you leave if you can, and keep copies of your evidence and of any reference number. A platform report does not depend on where you are, because it goes to the platform.

Under Article 69 of the Cybercrime Decree-Law, the Decree-Law applies to offences committed outside the UAE where, among other cases, the crime harms any of its nationals or residents, or the offender is later found in the UAE and has not been extradited. Whether a complaint against someone abroad is practical is a question for your UAE lawyer. A UAE blocking order disables access in the UAE only, so for content hosted abroad the platform's own decision usually matters more.

For the large Indian community in Dubai, the problem often began on an Indian news portal, review site or group chat. Reputation management for Indians in the UAE explains the separate route RepuLex runs in India.

The first two are legal acts that belong to you and your UAE lawyer. The others are work RepuLex declines because it misleads readers or belongs with the police. For anything involving a person under 18, go to the police: 999 in an emergency or the Dubai Police e-crime service.

If the question is what you or your staff may post on a company's accounts, social media laws in the UAE covers the rules, including the advertiser permit and the labelling of advertising. For how the same work runs in the capital, see online reputation management in Abu Dhabi.