Saudi Arabia, Blogging And The Freedom Of Expression
The internet is an excellent source of information, and the development of social media has revolutionised the way the internet is being used. True, the UGC is a great opportunity for marketing enthusiasts. But more importantly, the Web has given a excellent platform for people to speak out aloud, whether in appreciation, critical review, or more importantly, in dissent.
The Iran Elections took the world by surprise. We blogged about how Iran citizens were using Twitter to broadcast their voices of revolution in a country where civil rights are suppressed without much regard. (On a more retrospective tone, we also blogged about how civil dissent on the internet is easier to monitor and thereby suppress). Which is why this article by Reuters on bloggers testing the boundaries in Saudi Arabia is very relevant to the current scenario. The article mentions how bloggers in Saudi Arabai are forming a close community. Saudi Arabia is well known for its press censorship which is why it is very commendable that bloggers like Omran say (quoted from the article) “I want to do this because I want to be part of the change that is taking place in the country, I want to push for the changes to go faster,” said Omran, a student who writes on his Saudi Jeans blog (saudijeans.org). Bloggers in Saudi Arabia have come together in recent years to unite under a banner, understand how to maintain an even toehold with the Government while blogging about their opinions.
We’ve been commenting on and off about how blogs and other online media are replacing newspapers (though it will be quite some time before India picks up that trend). What was extremely surprisng was this finding by CPJ (Committee to Protect Journalists). The report found that 45% of all journalists in prison were put in prison for publishing online content. Saudi Arabia is also listed as one of the worst countries to be a blogger in. Saudi Arabia is well known for its intolerance towards free opinion, but it seems to be hitting hard on bloggers in particular. The internet offers some scope for anonymity with a lot of people across the world using blogs, Youtube videos and Twitter to reach out to the world.
Content on the internet often treads a fine line. In several nations, including India, there is no properly laid out structure for online media or online content. Recently, there was a lawsuit filed against Google for content published using its blogging platform. Censorship of opinion is an ugly subject, quite contrary to the spirit of human rights that each country claims to maintain. (In a related post, we have also brought into perspective China’s suppression of online opinion) It’s been quite a while, but we remember remarking very early about the need for Law 2.0. However, cyber-laws need not just be about piracy and hacking. We also need laws (preferably an international consensus for a uniform mandate – since the World Wide Web crosses all boundaries) to maintain the fundamental rights of man.
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