{"id":9265,"date":"2017-09-18T11:01:02","date_gmt":"2017-09-18T11:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rsoftsolution.com\/blog\/snap-blocks-al-jazeera-in-saudi-arabia-to-comply-with-local-laws.html"},"modified":"2017-09-18T11:01:02","modified_gmt":"2017-09-18T11:01:02","slug":"snap-blocks-al-jazeera-in-saudi-arabia-to-comply-with-local-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rbsitsoftwaresolution.in\/blog\/snap-blocks-al-jazeera-in-saudi-arabia-to-comply-with-local-laws.html","title":{"rendered":"Snap blocks Al Jazeera in Saudi Arabia to \u201ccomply with local laws\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

Snap has bowed to pressure from the government of Saudi Arabia to censor a news channel operated by the Qatar-based news broadcaster, Al Jazeera, from the Snapchat Discover section of its app. The development was reported earlier by the WSJ<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Al Jazeera launched a Snap Discover channel in English in December 2015 \u2014 but only launched its Arabia news channel in May this year.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Snap provided TechCrunch with the following statement explaining the decision: \u201cWe make an effort to comply with local laws in the countries where we operate.\u201d<\/p>\n

We understand that Saudi Arabia\u2019s Communications and Information Technology Commission, acting on behalf of the Ministry Of Culture and Information, informed Snap that Al Jazeera\u2019s Discover Publisher Channel was in violation of\u00a0Article 9<\/a>\u00a0of the Saudi law of Printed Material and Publication, and\u00a0Article 6<\/a>\u00a0of the Saudi Anti-Cyber Crime Law.<\/p>\n

Article 9 of the\u00a0Saudi law of Printed Material and Publication includes a series of censured clauses pertaining to media \u2014 including not inciting feuds and spreading dissent among citizens, and not jeopardizing the country\u2019s security or serving foreign interests in conflict with national interest; while Article 6 of the\u00a0Anti-Cyber Crime Law censures the: \u201cproduction, preparation, transmission, or storage of material impinging on public order, religious values, public morals, and privacy, through the information network or computers.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, tl;dr, the law enshrines a regime of total state-control of media.\u00a0Reporters Without Borders ranks<\/a> Saudi Arabia as 168th in the World Press Freedom Index, noting in a summary of the country that: \u201cSaudi Arabia has no independent media, the authorities tolerate neither political parties, unions, nor human rights groups, and the level of self-censorship is extremely high. The Internet is the only space where freely-reported information and views can circulate, albeit at great risk to its citizen journalists.\u00a0\u201d<\/p>\n

Al Jazeera has long been accused by the Saudis of being a tool for Qatar to stoke opposition to regional governments. And the broadcaster has certainly courted controversy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This summer a group of Saudi-led Middle Eastern nations also broke off diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting and sheltering Islamist groups \u2014 an accusation it denies.<\/p>\n

The wider political context here is a regional power struggle<\/a>, with Saudi and its Gulf allies seeking to maintain the political status quo and viewing Qatari as a destabilizing risk.<\/p>\n

At the time of writing Al Jazeera had not responded to a request for comment but, in a statement to the WSJ, a spokesperson for the broadcaster couched Snap\u2019s decision to close its channel in Saudi Arabia as \u201can attempt\u00a0to silence freedom of expression\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fundamental question that Al Jazeera is asking is, how could a U.S. company which is publicly traded, and which stands for freedom of speech where access to social media is a constitutional right, deny these rights to others?\u201d the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n

We understand Al Jazeera\u2019s Snap content has not been removed from Snap\u2019s apps in other countries in the Middle East, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Yemen, Tunisia, and Oman.<\/p>\n

The content is also still available in Al Jazeera\u2019s home territory of Qatar.<\/p>\n

Snap launched the Discover feature in January 2015<\/a>, introducing a new section to Snapchat where users could consume content created by broadcasters, publishers, music labels, artists and so on \u2014 packaged up in the Snap Stories form.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Article source: http:\/\/feedproxy.google.com\/~r\/techcrunch\/social\/~3\/8M_S_bGoNio\/<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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