e country’s watchdog has recently claimed that the apps in question flout the local telecom legislation. The Saudi Arabia’s Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) has ordered telecom operators to check the use of Skype and Whatsapp. While in western countries such warnings can be bogged down in lots of legal cases, it isn’t like that in Saudi justice.
Skype has received a warning a few days ago when the Saudi Arabia’s press said authorities had asked telecom companies to investigate ways to monitor or block these services. The Communications and Information Technology Commission claimed in a statement on its site that it had become evident that a number of online communication apps don’t meet regulatory requirements.
Actually, if Skype fails to comply with Saudi laws then the service can face problems in the country. The most interesting part is that neither the CITC nor the Saudi government ever said which law has been broken. The experts believe that it is likely to be something about censorship, and Skype should confess and conform. Neither the government nor the CITC said when the service has to fix the situation or what measure will be applied if it fails. As for CITC, it claims to be acting to protect the country from any negative aspects which could harm the public interest.
It seems that Saudi Arabia keeps making a push for greater control over cyberspace, while Internet and smartphone usage soars. The independent observers believe that the local authorities are just worried that people might mix and talk, which can be a dangerous thing if you live in a monarchy. Indeed, if people start communicating with each other they might accidentally become informed and begin wondering why in the Earth they are living in monarchy and why everyone in the country is ruled by people getting the job by shagging.
A few days ago the English-language Arab News Daily suggested that the country may try to end anonymity for Twitter users residing in Saudi Arabia by restricting access to the website to people registering their IDs on the service. It is unclear how the situation ends for Skype and other social communication services, but some of the companies may want to reconsider the way they do business in Saudi Arabia.
Skype has received a warning a few days ago when the Saudi Arabia’s press said authorities had asked telecom companies to investigate ways to monitor or block these services. The Communications and Information Technology Commission claimed in a statement on its site that it had become evident that a number of online communication apps don’t meet regulatory requirements.
Actually, if Skype fails to comply with Saudi laws then the service can face problems in the country. The most interesting part is that neither the CITC nor the Saudi government ever said which law has been broken. The experts believe that it is likely to be something about censorship, and Skype should confess and conform. Neither the government nor the CITC said when the service has to fix the situation or what measure will be applied if it fails. As for CITC, it claims to be acting to protect the country from any negative aspects which could harm the public interest.
It seems that Saudi Arabia keeps making a push for greater control over cyberspace, while Internet and smartphone usage soars. The independent observers believe that the local authorities are just worried that people might mix and talk, which can be a dangerous thing if you live in a monarchy. Indeed, if people start communicating with each other they might accidentally become informed and begin wondering why in the Earth they are living in monarchy and why everyone in the country is ruled by people getting the job by shagging.
A few days ago the English-language Arab News Daily suggested that the country may try to end anonymity for Twitter users residing in Saudi Arabia by restricting access to the website to people registering their IDs on the service. It is unclear how the situation ends for Skype and other social communication services, but some of the companies may want to reconsider the way they do business in Saudi Arabia.
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