Last year, we brought you news of the 250 new emoji characters that the Unicode Consortium had included to the standard emoji listing. One of the standout emoji characters we highlighted back then was the middle finger emoji. In the United Arab Emirates, flipping the bird at someone could land you in prison as its considered both rude and illegal.
The same law is set to be extended to the internet world making the upcoming middle finger emoji. The middle finger is yet to be added to Android and iOS but Microsoft is set to unveil it with the Windows 10 operating system. According to legal experts in Dubai, sending a middle finger emoji on a smartphone or even sending a middle finger picture through email can put you in trouble. It’s an insult in the UAE and the law can punish you with either jail of up to three years or a fine of up to $136,000. For the sender to face prosecution, there must be a complaint filed with the police force. Expatriates found guilty will likely face deportation.
The middle finger emoji is officially known as “reversed hand with middle finger extended” according to the folks at Emojipedia. Next time you want to share the “reversed hand with middle finger extended” emoji, careful not to land in jail. 
