IT IS a tiresome truth that when people post on social media, they sometimes become detached from the words they type. Some psychological studies of soldiers suggest that it is easier to kill someone when you can’t see the whites of their eyes—from a bomber, say, or a drone control room. Likewise, it can feel like the finger pressing the post button on Twitter, when you have written something critical, belongs to someone else. That is unfortunate. But it is a price worth paying for safeguarding a more important principle. Allowing people the freedom to criticise something on social media leads to greater accountability. Establishments with shoddy service have to change their ways—or fold—when faced with a barrage of online complaints. And governments cannot expect to get away with dodgy behaviour without being called out for it. That is why authoritarian regimes (and some hotels) are so keen to control what people type about them.

Britain’s Foreign Office has issued new guidance about using social media in the United Arab Emirates:

Posting material (including videos and photographs) online that are critical of companies or individuals, or related to incidents in the UAE, or appearing to abuse/ridicule the country or its authorities may be considered a crime punishable under UAE law. There have been cases of individuals being detained, prosecuted and/or convicted for posting this type of material.

That is pretty broad advice. Does it cover those whingeing on TripAdvisor that waiting staff took an age to serve tea? Or just those who suggest the way the UAE treats its labourers is a bit rum?

Possibly both. In 2013 an Indian man was arrested in Dubai for sharing a video of police beating up an Indian driver. (The charges were later dropped.) No surprise there. But the UAE’s cybercrime laws go well beyond incidents like that. Posting a photograph of someone without their consent carries a potential sentence of six months imprisonment. In 2015 an Australian woman was deported for photographing her neighbour’s car, which had been parked in a disabled bay, and making insulting remarks about her online.

The Gulf is not the only place where this sort of thing goes on. In Thailand, with its strict lèse–majesté laws, tourists have been warned about posting derogatory comments about the king, which can result in harsh punishments. Even in America travellers have to be careful. In 2012 a British holidaymaker was barred from the country for writing on Twitter, "Free this week, for quick gossip/prep before I go and destroy America." The tourist said he was just using a colloquialism for “have a good time”.

Some will argue that travellers should simply accept the norms of the country they are visiting. That is a hard to disagree with. If you choose to travel to a repressive emirate such as Dubai, don’t be surprised if you are a bit repressed when you get there. That holds true even if, as with business travellers on an essential trip, the “choice” of destination is no choice at all. We all have to adjust our behaviour somewhat, wherever we go. (Try asking for your dessert before your cheese in France and see how far you get.) If you are uncomfortable with a country's laws, don't travel there. Otherwise, if you want to criticise a country like the UAE, act like a drone pilot: wait until you are safely home again and release your bombs from afar.