Mark Zuckerberg in 2009 and 2018. Bloomberg
Mark Zuckerberg in 2009 and 2018. Bloomberg
Mark Zuckerberg in 2009 and 2018. Bloomberg
Mark Zuckerberg in 2009 and 2018. Bloomberg

Could the #10YearChallenge really be used against us?


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  • Arabic

Your friends have probably done it. Celebrities are all doing it. You might have done it. The Burj Khalifa has even joined in.

As with most social media crazes, nobody knows quite when the #10yearchallenge began, or where the genesis is exactly - but it doesn't seem to be going away. At last count, the viral meme - in which a person posts pictures of themselves in 2009 alongside a picture from 2019 to highlight how much has changed (or, how filters were not as easily accessible back then) - had racked up close to four million posts on Instagram.

At first glance, it seems like a harmless enough opportunity for a person to take stock of their life, or a fairly innocuous display of a world focused on change through a purely aesthetic lens. But what if it isn't?

New York-based author and tech consultant Kate O'Neill sent out a tweet - which she has since described as "semi-sarcastic" - about a week ago, as the viral meme hit its stride: "Me 10 years ago: probably would have played along with the profile picture aging meme going around on Facebook and Instagram. Me now: ponders how all this data could be mined to train facial recognition algorithms on age progression and age recognition."

The question she posed was simple: can these pictures being posted by seemingly everyone on the internet, be used in a way that we didn't intend, or perhaps not know about?

As the tweet gained traction (it's now been retweeted 12,000 times), O'Neill elaborated further in a comment piece for US tech magazine Wired.

"Imagine that you wanted to train a facial recognition algorithm on age-related characteristics and, more specifically, on age progression (e.g., how people are likely to look as they get older). Ideally, you'd want a broad and rigorous dataset with lots of people's pictures. It would help if you knew they were taken a fixed number of years apart—say, 10 years," she wrote.

"Through the Facebook meme, most people have been helpfully adding that context back in (“me in 2008 and me in 2018”) as well as further info, in many cases, about where and how the pic was taken (“2008 at University of Whatever, taken by Joe; 2018 visiting New City for this year’s such-and-such event”).

"In other words, thanks to this meme, there’s now a very large dataset of carefully curated photos of people from roughly 10 years ago and now."

Rebuttals filled social media, arguing that the pictures were already public, and easily accessible for monolithic tech giants to harvest data from for, well, a decade. While that is the case - there certainly wasn't a carefully set out juxtaposition of then-and-now photos of people before, but we, as the public, are now handing that information out on a silver platter, O'Neill argued.

Her tweet wasn't intended to illicit fear into the hearts and minds of the public, nor was it an attempt to decry that the technology-induced end of the world is nigh. In fact, O'Neill noted that there were many ways such technology could aid society - for example, finding children who had been missing for years.

But the public were understandably stumped: could this seemingly harmful meme be used against us?

How to train your algorithm

The crux of O'Neill's theory was not nearly as doomsday-esque as some social media commentators made it out to be. At the end of the day, the argument is that some companies, Facebook for example, need to train facial recognition algorithms on things like age-progression and how people will look as they get older in order to advance their technology. To do so, they need a pretty hefty database full of people's pictures.

This, O'Neill argued, is where the #10yearchallenge came in.

"There are also applications of synthetically aging photographs, for example trying to give an accurate picture of what missing children would look like 10 or 15 years after they vanished," Adrian Evans, head of the department of electronic and electrical engineering at the University of Bath, UK, says.

"For this last example, a collection of matched 2009 vs 2019 photos of the same people would be a very useful resource for building a database for training and/or evaluating algorithms for this."

Evans said recognising people at different ages is a problem researchers had long grappled with in the past.

"For example, ears have been shown to retain the same shape throughout a person’s life, from babyhood to adulthood."

Facial recognition and data harvesting in the UAE

Sam Blatteis, chief executive of The Mena Catalysts, which advises technology companies on policy and government affairs in the region, doesn't think we should be deactivating our Facebook accounts just yet.

"It’s important to de-couple 'hype' from 'reality'," he says.

"The UAE has some of the most sophisticated data protection legislation in the Middle East and Africa. The country already has at least four data protection laws now in Dubai Health Authority, Ministry of Health and Prevention, DIFC, and ADGM, all designed to place the user back in control of their own data."

Blatteis argued that tech was spawning a shift in the “geography of economic opportunity”, pointing to the Information and Communications Technology sector and its role as a key engine in the UAE’s non-oil economic development. The nuclear tech sector in Al ­Gharbia was also creating hundreds of jobs and valuable training opportunities and work was being done in the Northern Emirates with user-friendly smart services.

However, he went on to note the incredible presence of Facebook in the region. "Facebook has had enormously high policy impact in the Middle East, whether it be entrepreneurship in Egypt or policymaker education in the Gulf," he says.

"There is a cold war unfolding between privacy and relevance across Middle Eastern geographies, platforms and products. Customers, thus far, demonstrate via their actions that the utility of Facebook is so great they are willing to make that trade-off."

Data breaches aren't uncommon for even the world's largest companies. In late 2018, international hotel group Marriott International said the privacy of about 500 million guests may have been compromised in a cyber attack. The attack was the biggest since the attack on Yahoo in 2013, which exposed all of its three billion users.

The average cost of data breaches in the Gulf region's two biggest economies – the UAE and Saudi Arabia – was $5.31 million in the first half of 2018, according to US-based research. The UAE witnessed one of the biggest data breaches of the decade in the first half of 2018, when ride-hailing firm Careem admitted the theft of personal data of up to 14 million of its customers.

"Data forms the bedrock of the wealth of nations, and safeguards on networks do need to be 'beefed up'," Blatteis says. "While it’s easy to be skeptical of all of Facebook’s self-promotion, fake news, and group think, it’s hard to deny that it nurtures relationships too. Data can have an impact on power, money and love – the fundamentals of the human narrative."

How to protect yourself against data harvesting

O'Neill herself isn't sure how to do so: "The main thing I can think to elaborate on is that I feel like perhaps the reason this whole issue struck a chord and resonated for people is because we have an overall fear of emerging technology, the future ahead of us, and the big changes in store," O'Neill told The National.

"I didn’t want for this whole discussion to be consumed with fear and panic – I’ve tried to inject a dose of optimism in with the pragmatic view. For example, I believe technology can do amazing things for humanity, for quality of human life, for our meaningful and memorable and fulfilling experiences. But, in order for that to happen, we need to deepen our sophistication about data and our relationship to technology, and proceed with greater awareness of how technology could go wrong."

O'Neill said it was important for social media users to be more aware of our participation in social memes and games that ask us to share specific kinds of content. People could also consider whether to disable automatic facial tagging on Facebook and other platforms. All you need to do is change your settings.

This is Facebook's own argument, in response to public backlash over O'Neill's theory, adding that users could turn facial recognition off at any time.

"This is a user-generated meme that went viral on its own," Facebook said in a widely-circulated statement.

"Facebook did not start this trend, and the meme uses photos that already exist on Facebook. Facebook gains nothing from this meme (besides reminding us of the questionable fashion trends of 2009)."

____________________

Read more:

Burj Khalifa joins in on the #10YearChallenge

New viral challenge asks social media users, ‘How hard did ageing hit you?’

9 most meme-worthy Golden Globes 2019 moments

____________________

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Foreign workers can sponsor family members based solely on their income

Male residents employed in the UAE can sponsor immediate family members, such as wife and children, subject to conditions that include a minimum salary of Dh 4,000 or Dh 3,000 plus accommodation.

Attested original marriage certificate, birth certificate of the child, ejari or rental contract, labour contract, salary certificate must be submitted to the government authorised typing centre to complete the sponsorship process

In Abu Dhabi, a woman can sponsor her husband and children if she holds a residence permit stating she is an engineer, teacher, doctor, nurse or any profession related to the medical sector and her monthly salary is at least Dh 10,000 or Dh 8,000 plus accommodation.

In Dubai, if a woman is not employed in the above categories she can get approval to sponsor her family if her monthly salary is more than Dh 10,000 and with a special permission from the Department of Naturalization and Residency Dubai.

To sponsor parents, a worker should earn Dh20,000 or Dh19,000 a month, plus a two-bedroom accommodation

 

 

 

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Saturday: Australia v New Zealand, Sydney, 1pm (UAE)
Sunday: South Africa v Argentina, Port Elizabeth, 11pm (UAE)

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE

Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.

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Company name: Marefa Digital

Based: Dubai Multi Commodities Centre

Number of employees: seven

Sector: e-learning

Funding stage: Pre-seed funding of Dh1.5m in 2017 and an initial seed round of Dh2m in 2019

Investors: Friends and family 

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Where to donate in the UAE

The Emirates Charity Portal

You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.

The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments

The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.

Al Noor Special Needs Centre

You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.

Beit Al Khair Society

Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.

Dar Al Ber Society

Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.

Dubai Cares

Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.

Emirates Airline Foundation

Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.

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Noor Dubai Foundation

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).

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Euro 2020 qualifier

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Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

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September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

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The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

Skoda Superb Specs

Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol

Power: 190hp

Torque: 320Nm

Price: From Dh147,000

Available: Now

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

The Farewell

Director: Lulu Wang

Stars: Awkwafina, Zhao Shuzhen, Diana Lin, Tzi Ma

Four stars

The biog

Born November 11, 1948
Education: BA, English Language and Literature, Cairo University
Family: Four brothers, seven sisters, two daughters, 42 and 39, two sons, 43 and 35, and 15 grandchildren
Hobbies: Reading and traveling

Tell Me Who I Am

Director: Ed Perkins

Stars: Alex and Marcus Lewis

Four stars

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THE SPECS

Jaguar F-Pace SVR

Engine: 5-litre supercharged V8​​​​​​​

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Power: 542bhp​​​​​​​

Torque: 680Nm​​​​​​​

Price: Dh465,071

MATCH DETAILS

Juventus 2 (Bonucci 36, Ronaldo 90 6)

Genoa 1 (Kouame 40)

MATCH INFO

UAE Division 1

Abu Dhabi Harlequins 12-24 Abu Dhabi Saracens

Getting there

The flights

Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.

The stay

Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.

Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh117,059

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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Neill%20Blomkamp%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20David%20Harbour%2C%20Orlando%20Bloom%2C%20Archie%20Madekwe%2C%20Darren%20Barnet%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs

Engine 60kwh FWD

Battery Rimac 120kwh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry

Power 204hp Torque 360Nm

Price, base / as tested Dh174,500 

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKinetic%207%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rick%20Parish%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Clean%20cooking%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Self-funded%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO

Pakistan 106-8 (20 ovs)

Iftikhar 45, Richardson 3-18

Australia 109-0 (11.5 ovs)

Warner 48 no, Finch 52 no

Australia win series 2-0

Gulf Men's League final

Dubai Hurricanes 24-12 Abu Dhabi Harlequins

MATCH INFO

Day 2 at Mount Maunganui

England 353

Stokes 91, Denly 74, Southee 4-88

New Zealand 144-4

Williamson 51, S Curran 2-28

Saturday's results

West Ham 2-3 Tottenham
Arsenal 2-2 Southampton
Bournemouth 1-2 Wolves
Brighton 0-2 Leicester City
Crystal Palace 1-2 Liverpool
Everton 0-2 Norwich City
Watford 0-3 Burnley

Manchester City v Chelsea, 9.30pm 

About Takalam

Date started: early 2020

Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh

Based: Abu Dhabi

Sector: HealthTech and wellness

Number of staff: 4

Funding to date: Bootstrapped

SCHEDULE

December 8: UAE v USA (Sharjah Cricket Stadium)

December 9: USA v Scotland (Sharjah Cricket Stadium)

December 11: UAE v Scotland (Sharjah Cricket Stadium)

December 12: UAE v USA (ICC Academy Oval 1)

December 14: USA v Scotland (ICC Academy Oval 1)

December 15: UAE v Scotland (ICC Academy Oval 1)

All matches start at 10am

 

MATCH INFO

Watford 1 (Deulofeu 80' p)

Chelsea 2 (Abraham 5', Pulisic 55')

How to donate

Text the following numbers:

2289 - Dh10

6025 - Dh 20

2252 - Dh 50

2208 - Dh 100

6020 - Dh 200 

*numbers work for both Etisalat and du

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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERooh%20Afza%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E100ml%20contains%20414%20calories%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETang%20orange%20drink%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E100ml%20serving%20contains%20300%20calories%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECarob%20beverage%20mix%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E100ml%20serving%20contains%20about%20300%20calories%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EQamar%20Al%20Din%20apricot%20drink%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E100ml%20saving%20contains%2061%20calories%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EVimto%20fruit%20squash%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E100ml%20serving%20contains%2030%20calories%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
If you go...

Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.

Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50

MATCH INFO

Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')

Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')

Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)

Wicked: For Good

Director: Jon M Chu

Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater

Rating: 4/5

If you go

Flying

Despite the extreme distance, flying to Fairbanks is relatively simple, requiring just one transfer in Seattle, which can be reached directly from Dubai with Emirates for Dh6,800 return.

 

Touring

Gondwana Ecotours’ seven-day Polar Bear Adventure starts in Fairbanks in central Alaska before visiting Kaktovik and Utqiarvik on the North Slope. Polar bear viewing is highly likely in Kaktovik, with up to five two-hour boat tours included. Prices start from Dh11,500 per person, with all local flights, meals and accommodation included; gondwanaecotours.com 

RESULT

Wolves 1 (Traore 67')

Tottenham 2 (Moura 8', Vertonghen 90 1')

Man of the Match: Adama Traore (Wolves)

In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff

Ultra processed foods

- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns 

- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;

- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces

- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,

- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.

The specs: Hyundai Ionic Hybrid

Price, base: Dh117,000 (estimate)

Engine: 1.6L four-cylinder, with 1.56kWh battery

Transmission: Six-speed automatic

Power: 105hp (engine), plus 43.5hp (battery)

Torque: 147Nm (engine), plus 170Nm (battery)

Fuel economy, combined: 3.4L / 100km

Rashid & Rajab

Director: Mohammed Saeed Harib

Stars: Shadi Alfons,  Marwan Abdullah, Doaa Mostafa Ragab 

Two stars out of five