Saudi Arabia
Country Profile: Saudi Arabia
Background
Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad and the cradle of Islam. It embraces a strict interpretation of Sunni Islam and has a strong religious self-identity. Political parties are banned and activists who publicly call for reform risk being jailed.“Country...
- Posted on 06/Aug/2009; tagged in Saudi Arabia, Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
ONI Blog: Saudi Arabia to impose restrictions on online content production, including on YouTube
The chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Commission for Audiovisual Media, Dr. Riyad Najm, said his commission will start putting restrictions on content produced online, including on YouTube. He said Saudis wishing to post content to YouTube will have to get a license...
- Posted on 03/Dec/2013; tagged in Saudi Arabia, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Non-filtering content restrictions, Social filtering
ONI Blog: CPJ Ranks Ten Most Censored Countries
In preparation for World Press Freedom Day, the Committee to Protect Journalists published its findings on the most censored countries in the world. The top three countries with the most press restrictions and least access to media information were revealed to...
- Posted on 03/May/2012; tagged in Belarus, Burma, Cuba, Guinea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Syria, Guinea, Asia, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Europe, Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Legislation, Circumvention, Surveillance, Threats to the Open Net, Political filtering, Social filtering, Internet tools filtering
ONI Blog: Threats to the Open Net: March 2, 2012
Chinese users circumvent the Great Firewall to flood President Obama's Google+ campaign page with comment. Messages left included tongue-in-cheek references to the Occupy Wall Street movement, requests for green cards, and criticism of China's heavy-handed censorship practices.
The Committee to Protect Journalists...
- Posted on 02/Mar/2012; tagged in China, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Pakistan, Russia, Asia, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Europe, Threats to the Open Net
ONI Blog: Saudi Government Blocks Amnesty International’s Website
On July 22, Amnesty International posted a secret draft of a Saudi Arabian anti-terrorism law, titled "Draft Penal Law for Terrorism Crimes and Financing of Terrorism." In response, the government of Saudi Arabia has blocked Amnesty International's website.
According to...
- Posted on 26/Jul/2011; tagged in Saudi Arabia, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Legislation, Human rights
ONI Blog: Saudi Arabia Tightens Media Restrictions
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has issued a new Royal Decree introducing sweeping restrictions on the country’s media, with considerable fines and even closure of news organizations that “undermine national security.” The restrictions, which extend to writers as well, bar the...
- Posted on 09/May/2011; tagged in Saudi Arabia, Legislation
ONI Blog: Threats to the Open Net: April 29, 2011
Every week, the OpenNet Initiative provides a weekly news roundup (dubbed "Threats to the Open Net") in addition to our usual in-depth blog posts. If you would like to subscribe to the RSS feed for our newsreel, our entire blog,...
ONI Blog: Saudi Arabia Requires License for Bloggers
Drawing media attention for its nation-wide Blackberry ban last year, Saudi Arabia made news again concerning its telecommunications last week when its government invoked a blogging license policy. According to the Al Arabiya News Channel, the Culture and...
ONI Blog: Saudi Arabia Blocks Facebook For Hours Over Moral Concerns
On Saturday, Facebook was blocked for several hours in Saudi Arabia after the government deemed it morally inappropriate in accordance with the country’s conservative values, according to PC Magazine. Several news sites have quoted officials claiming the social...
- Posted on 14/Nov/2010; tagged in Saudi Arabia, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Take-down, ONI, Social filtering
ONI Blog: Pakistan Lifts Facebook Ban; Bangladesh Cracks Down
As Pakistan lifted a two-week long ban on Facebook Monday, Bangladesh began blocking the site.
Both bans followed the creation of a Facebook group promoting "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day," an event that encourages participants to submit artistic representations of the prophet...
- Posted on 01/Jun/2010; tagged in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Asia, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Arrests and legal action, Obscenity, Hate speech, Social filtering, Overblocking
