Forums and Blogs licenses in Saudi Arabia

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Bloggers license remark causes stir

By WALAA HAWARI | ARAB NEWS
Published: Sep 24, 2010 23:30 Updated: Sep 24, 2010 23:30

Government official retracts statement after Internet users go ballistic

RIYADH: The Ministry of Culture & Information spokesman Abdul Rahman Al-Hazzaa did a quick volte-face on Friday after saying that bloggers and Web forums in Saudi Arabia would have to register themselves under a proposed new electronic media law.

Earlier that same morning, Al-Hazzaa told Al-Arabiya channel that electronic publishing would be included in the publication and printing bylaws applied in the Kingdom. He added that blogs and online forums would be included in this ruling. Approval has been given to provide the ministry with the power to view any case related to blogs and online forums, he said, adding that online media would be treated the same as the print media.

The remarks sparked a storm among Saudi online users, leading to a further statement from Al-Hazzaa who said the new law would require online news sites to be licensed, but would only encourage bloggers and others to register.

“We do not want to license them. There are so many we cannot control them,” he said of the thousands of Saudi bloggers and online forum operators. He claimed that his remarks on Al-Arabiya had been taken out of context, but stressed it would not be compulsory to be registered. “It’s not required, no; it’s not in the plan,” he told AFP.

He said there were more than 100 news websites and that licensing them would permit their reporters to take part in regular media activities alongside the traditional media.

In the interview, Al-Hazzaa had said that the new regulations being finalized are mainly to give his department supervisory authority over electronic media, as it has over traditional print and broadcast media and publishing houses in Saudi Arabia.

“The ministry is working on the regulation in coordination with the official parties concerned, and it will be ready for application once the minister approves it,” he said.

A number of bloggers attacked the decision on the social networking sites Facebook and Twitter and expressed their doubts about the ministry’s ability to control content on the Internet.

Messages on Twitter sarcastically wondered whether women would need their guardian’s approval to start a blog. Fouad Al-Farhan, a famous Saudi blogger, wrote: “We are not above the law. Our right to write and express ourselves through blogs is a personal right, we should not need to have permission for that.”

He compared the move as akin to requesting permission from the Ministry of Water to drink.

The controversy prompted a quick response from Al-Hazzaa, who said it was futile for his office to supervise the content of blogs and social media. “The day I shut a site, tomorrow they will open it under a new name,” he said.