Send to Kindle
Source: Pixabay
The Saudi government lifted the ban on calls made through online applications but will continue to monitor and censor them, a government spokesman said on Thursday.
All online voice and video calls - such as Skype, WhatsApp, Messenger on Facebook and Viber - that meet the regulatory requirements, are available today.
On Thursday morning Messenger and Viber were apparently still blocked in the kingdom, Bloomberg reported.
Adele Abu Hamid, spokesman for the CITC telecoms regulator, told Arabia TV on Wednesday that the new regulations are primarily aimed at protecting users' personal information and blocking content that violates the laws of the kingdom.
Asked whether applications could be tracked by authorities or companies, he said: "Under no circumstances can users use a voice or video application without being monitored and censored by the Communications and Information Technology Commission, whether the application is global or local ".
Saudi Arabia, which has banned internet communications in 2013, and other neighboring Gulf countries are cautious, arguing that such services can be used by activists and terrorists.
The Gulf countries, particularly Bahrain, were generally spared by the mass protests during the Arab Spring, which were often organized over the Internet and in 2011 influnced much of the region.
Lifting the ban is part of the Saudi government's wide-ranging reforms to diversify the economy, partly in response to low oil prices which hit the country's finances.
However, the policy lifting may have negative impact on the three telecoms in Saudi Arabia - Telecom Co. (STC), Etihad Etisalat (Mobile) and Zain Saudi, who earn their revenues from international phone calls made by millions of foreigners living in the kingdom.
In the first 24 hours since the launch of the “I Choose Bulgaria” initiative, 420 applications were submitted by Bulgarians wishing to return home
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have signed a "Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement," pledging that any aggression against either nation would be treated as an attack on both.
Abdulrahman Al-Khalidi, a Saudi journalist and human rights activist, has been unlawfully detained in Bulgaria despite a court ruling mandating his release
From January 1 to March 10, the Bulgarian Employment Agency processed more than 7,000 applications from non-EU citizens seeking to work in the country
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the ongoing talks between Ukrainian and U.S. delegations in Saudi Arabia as constructive and beneficial
In 2024, a variety of applications gained massive popularity among Android users in Bulgari
Russia has declared its readiness to resume peace negotiations with Ukraine, even as its forces continue to advance around the frontline city of Pokrovsk
The discount on Russian Urals crude compared to Brent reached a one-year high of 19.40 dollars per barrel at the ports of Primorsk and Novorossiysk on 10 November
Romania is moving to assume control of Lukoil’s local operations to safeguard its national energy system and comply with upcoming U.S. sanctions
The European Commission has identified Spain, Italy, Greece, and Cyprus as countries “under migratory pressure,” opening the way for the relocation of asylum seekers to other EU member states
Ukraine’s Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko has been suspended following a sweeping investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) into large-scale corruption at the state nuclear energy company Energoatom
Have you ever heard of Ibestad? It’s a small place in Northern Norway, in Troms County, and it’s actually really beautiful! Ibestad is mostly made up of two islands called Andørja and Rolla
Bulgaria's Strategic Role in the EU's Drone Wall Defense Initiative
When Politics Means Violence
