FaceTime calls, which have been banned for a long time, are apparently valid in the UAE

Video conversation On Sunday, the call from the United Arab Emirates seemed to be starting to work, which clearly relaxed the long-term Apple The plan of the Federation of the Seven Emirates. The official did not issue a statement on the matter.this UAEThe Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Apple also did not respond to a request for comment. Associated Press reporters can make FaceTime voice and video calls with good sound quality to people at home and abroad.

The UAE is home to the oil-rich capital Abu Dhabi and the free-flowing financial center Dubai. It has long blocked Internet calling applications such as WhatsApp and FaceTime, presumably for security reasons and to protect the revenue of its monopolistic state-owned telecommunications company. But The official did not explain publicly ban. Apple iPhones and computers sold in the UAE usually do not come with the FaceTime calling application.

On Sunday, calls to Skype, Facebook’s WhatsApp and other similar Internet programs still appeared to be blocked.

Earlier this month, Dubai held a large-scale World Expo, which aims to attract millions of tourists from all over the world after a year postponed by the pandemic. Visitors can make WhatsApp and FaceTime calls on the expansive expo site in the southern desert of Dubai. The authorities have not yet commented on the relaxation of restrictions.

In the past, such programs were temporarily running in the UAE and then interrupted due to changes in Internet filtering.