Once upon a time, the Saudi Ministry of Culture & Information was able to control what people said and heard through the media. It basically owned it all, if not literally, then through a tight hand on the controls. Newer media has made that level of control impossible, much as that disappoints some. Earlier this week, there was a rumor going around that Saudi bloggers would need to obtain a ‘license’ of some sort to write their opinions on-line.
That’s not so, the Ministry states in this article from Saudi Gazette. Not only was there not a plan to implement licensing, but it would have been a fool’s errand had it been attempted.
It’s refreshing to see the Ministry acknowledging the facts of communication life in the 21st C. Now, it needs to remove its hand from and equally foolhardy effort to filter web content for Saudi consumption. If the owner of a blocked site really wants to get his/her/its message into Saudi Arabia, it will be done. Simply changing the site’s URL will do it. It’s only those who don’t really care about access who will be blocked. Then, the Ministry can see about taking the ‘Information’ part of its responsibilities out of its mandate. Governments simply cannot control the message anymore. It’s a waste of money to even try, though I suppose it does provide a few jobs.
Reports on licensing of blogs denied
RIYADH – A Saudi official denied Friday that bloggers and web forums would be forced to register under a new electronic media law, after remarks he made sparked outrage among Saudi Internet users.
Ministry of Information domestic media supervisor Abdulrahman Al-Hazzaa clarified that the new law will require on-line news sites to be licensed, but would only encourage bloggers and others to register.
“We are not putting it in our mind to license them. There are so many we cannot control them,” he said of the thousands of Saudi bloggers and online forum operators.
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September:25:2010 - 10:14
YEAH YOU tell em John! Young Jeezy!
I haven’t much to offer but this entertainment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gczBgNB-p1w&ob=av2e
September:26:2010 - 06:53
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