An article in the Saudi Arabian English-language Arab News this week describes the restrictions placed on Internet usage in the oil kingdom. As one Internet caf? owner told the newspaper: “KACST (King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology) has already taken enough measures to block such sites, and we constantly monitor the users. But it is very difficult to observe the users all the time, and sometimes they do go to such forbidden sites.”
On Saturday, according to Arab News, the Saudi authorities reminded Internet caf? operators to “adhere strictly to the laws regarding monitoring of those who use the ‘Net....” Yet caf? owners and managers are puzzled, reports the newspaper, “None had been told what new guidelines there were, and when Arab News explained them, they responded with skepticism.” The Internet caf? operators were also unaware that they could face a prison sentence if they were convicted of breaking the regulations. “Almost all cafe owners said that they do not allow their users to visit banned sites,” the Saudi article states. At the same time, however, “Managers and staff at the Internet cafes visited confirmed that a great deal of their business came from under-18s, who officially are not allowed in Internet cafes....”
The current Saudi Arabian regulations of Internet use, reports the paper, include the requirement that every user at an Internet caf? record his or her ID number and name. “However,” the article says, “Internet users are reluctant to comply as they are inviting trouble if they do not protect their identity against hackers and viruses.” The caf? owners and operators told Arab News that “implementation of some of the clauses of the new regulations will cut into their profit.”
The increase in traffic on the Internet in Saudi Arabia, in the wake of the Iraq war and the growing terrorism in Saudi Arabia itself, may have been a catalyst for the kingdom’s attempt to reinforce regulations of its citizens’ Internet use.
On Saturday, according to Arab News, the Saudi authorities reminded Internet caf? operators to “adhere strictly to the laws regarding monitoring of those who use the ‘Net....” Yet caf? owners and managers are puzzled, reports the newspaper, “None had been told what new guidelines there were, and when Arab News explained them, they responded with skepticism.” The Internet caf? operators were also unaware that they could face a prison sentence if they were convicted of breaking the regulations. “Almost all cafe owners said that they do not allow their users to visit banned sites,” the Saudi article states. At the same time, however, “Managers and staff at the Internet cafes visited confirmed that a great deal of their business came from under-18s, who officially are not allowed in Internet cafes....”
The current Saudi Arabian regulations of Internet use, reports the paper, include the requirement that every user at an Internet caf? record his or her ID number and name. “However,” the article says, “Internet users are reluctant to comply as they are inviting trouble if they do not protect their identity against hackers and viruses.” The caf? owners and operators told Arab News that “implementation of some of the clauses of the new regulations will cut into their profit.”
The increase in traffic on the Internet in Saudi Arabia, in the wake of the Iraq war and the growing terrorism in Saudi Arabia itself, may have been a catalyst for the kingdom’s attempt to reinforce regulations of its citizens’ Internet use.