The UAE's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has warned that criminal groups propagating radical ideologies may exploit the chat features in electronic games to spread violent ideas among adolescents, the official Emirati news agency WAM reported.
Teenagers often remain isolated and spend most of their time playing electronic games in their own rooms, away from families, which could weaken their social connection and make them an easy target for such groups, the TRA said.
The authority said the unprecedented progress in the information and communications technology sector makes it imperative for governments to find appropriate ways to address the potential risks associated with its growth.
The proliferation of electronic gadgets, addiction to electronic games and the absence of social interaction among youths, as well as excessive consumerism and lack of religious affinity make youth easy targets for groups looking to inflict societal harm, the TRA said.
"The groups that follow such vicious thinking are trying to recruit young people and adolescents through some electronic games, starting with unusual conversations with them in such a way that it reveals their weaknesses and they can then be easily exploited and instructed to commit unlawful acts," said TRA policy and programmes department director Mohammed al-Zarooni.
