Censorship in the Middle East

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Censorship is a policy used by governments to retain control over their people by preventing the public from viewing information considered by the republic as holding the potential to incite a rebellion. The majority of nations in the Middle East censor the media, including Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan runs the third most stringent censorship program in the world. [1] The government owns all forms of media and only reports good news or propaganda. In 2013, Turkmenistan banned all foreign publications and nongovernmental libraries. [1]

Contents

Internet censorship

A variety of techniques are used to censor Internet media. One of the first ways is for the government to place legal restrictions on the internet service providers or exhibit direct control over them. Through this control, the government blocks certain websites or media (such as pictures, videos, and news articles), and is even able to place surveillance over certain sources. The second way is for the government to outlaw, or even make informal requests discouraging the existence of controversial media corporations in their countries, in order to prevent the spread of ideas proposed by said companies. With these three methods, governments may remove certain unwanted content and therefore control the thoughts of their people. [2]

Censorship during the Arab Spring

As a result of the Arab Spring, totalitarian regimes cracked down on information flow. Reporters Without Borders states, "at least 199 of those engaged in informing the public were arrested in 2011, a 31-percent increase compared with the previous year." [3] Since early 2011, Bahrain has used censorship techniques such as slowing down Internet speeds, to prevent the spread of pictures and videos, monitoring internet use, and blocking controversial sites and topics. [4] Bahrain enforced subtle tactics, whereas Egypt completely shut down the Internet for five days during the period of the most unrest in January 2011. [3] Other nations, despite their effort to continue a strict censorship program, find it impossible to censor all material with the potential to spark a rebellion due to the wealth of information now available through the media. In recent years, more information has slipped through the cracks than ever before. For example, Arab television stations aired an Israelite nationalist video on the anniversary of Israeli independence, mainly because "[Jordan] couldn't censor it," according to Jon Alterman. [5] By 2011, Internet users in Egypt and Tunisia especially have found ways around the censorship. Egyptian bloggers reported abuses committed by the state, such as police beatings and activist arrests. These bloggers were then arrested, spurring other bloggers to report the arrests of the previous bloggers. As the censorship in Egypt came crashing to the ground, so did the reign of Mubarak. In Tunisia, Internet users created their own version of WikiLeaks, called "Tunileaks." Tunileaks informed the public of the shortcomings of their leader, Ben Ali, and again, sparked a revolution. [6]

Islamic Influence in Censorship Policies

Freedom of speech and right to the access of information in the Middle East is governed by Islamic principles. There is a specific position of human rights. Islamic principles have determined the trends present in social development. There are no sources that clearly state the regulation of freedom of speech, but this verse is used by many Muslim jurists: "And do not argue with the people of the Scripture except in a way that is best (29:46). The Shariah law greatly governs many Arab countries. The Islamic Council of Europe curated the Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights: people have the right to express their thoughts as long as it is within the limits of the Shariah law. [7]

Censorship Policies in Egypt

There are many censorship policies that exist in the Middle East. Egypt has witnessed many forms of media censorship. The Anti-Crime and Information Technology Crimes Law was ratified on the 18th of August in Egypt. [8] There will be penalties if one hacks government systems. The law prohibits any information regarding the police or military being published.

In Egypt, there has been access blocked to various news websites and more than 500 websites belonging to media organizations. Several Journalists, citizen-journalists, and bloggers have been detained and sentenced to prison.

Before the cyber law was passed, the Egyptian parliament passed a law that treats social media accounts with more than 5,000 followers as media outlets. This means that they are subject to persecution if they publish fake news or break the law.

Under surveillance technology, authorities can block and monitor internet traffic. This cybercrime law allows authorities to block content that is a threat to national security or economy. [9] There are similar laws present in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

In July 2022, the Egyptian government announced that a relaxing on the censorship rules relating to casual street photography and photography in public spaces. In August 2022, Egyptian authorities blocked the Al-Manassa website on the evening of 14 July as part of a series of continued restrictions on the website, which is one of the few independent news sites operating from inside Egypt. [10]

Censorship Policies in Qatar

Qatar has a variety of laws regarding expression and censorship. Recently, there has been the amendment of the Penal Code by the addition of Article 136. This article allows for the imprisonment of anyone who publishes or broadcasts content which harm national interests or public opinion. [11]

The Law on Printing and Publication issued in 1979 concerns censorship in Qatar. Article 62 deals with the creation of a committee in Qatar to control the censorship policies; representatives will be chosen from Ministries of Education, Interior, Labor and Social Affairs. Article 63 entails how artistic works need to be reviewed before they are published. Article 64 states that the Department of Publications and Publishing may direct the Censorship Committee and observe that technical, social, religious, ethical and cultural traditions are being followed. Article 65 states that sudden inspections can occur in cinemas and other locations in Qatar to make sure that films, ads and shows are appropriate. [12]

Related Research Articles

Internet censorship in Tunisia significantly decreased in January 2011, following the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, as the new acting government removed filters on social networking sites such as YouTube.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arabic Wikipedia</span> Arabic-language version of Wikipedia

The Arabic Wikipedia is the Modern Standard Arabic version of Wikipedia. It started on 9 July 2003. As of April 2024, it has 1,230,423 articles, 2,565,264 registered users and 54,018 files and it is the 17th largest edition of Wikipedia by article count, and ranks 8th in terms of depth among Wikipedias. It was the first Wikipedia in a Semitic language to exceed 100,000 articles on 25 May 2009, and also the first Semitic language to exceed 1 million articles, on 17 November 2019.

Multiple forms of media including books, newspapers, magazines, films, television, and content published on the Internet are censored in Saudi Arabia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet censorship</span> Legal control of the internet

Internet censorship is the legal control or suppression of what can be accessed, published, or viewed on the Internet. Censorship is most often applied to specific internet domains but exceptionally may extend to all Internet resources located outside the jurisdiction of the censoring state. Internet censorship may also put restrictions on what information can be made internet accessible. Organizations providing internet access – such as schools and libraries – may choose to preclude access to material that they consider undesirable, offensive, age-inappropriate or even illegal, and regard this as ethical behavior rather than censorship. Individuals and organizations may engage in self-censorship of material they publish, for moral, religious, or business reasons, to conform to societal norms, political views, due to intimidation, or out of fear of legal or other consequences.

Internet censorship in Morocco was listed as selective in the social, conflict/security, and Internet tools areas and as no evidence in the political area by the OpenNet Initiative (ONI) in August 2009. Freedom House listed Morocco's "Internet Freedom Status" as "Partly Free" in its 2018 Freedom on the Net report.

Internet censorship in Singapore is carried out by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). Internet services provided by the three major Internet service providers (ISPs) are subject to regulation by the MDA, which requires blocking of a symbolic number of websites containing "mass impact objectionable" material, including Playboy, YouPorn and Ashley Madison. The civil service, tertiary institutions and Institute of Technical Education has its own jurisdiction to block websites displaying pornography, information about drugs and online piracy.

The Internet is accessible to the majority of the population in Egypt, whether via smartphones, internet cafes, or home connections. Broadband Internet access via VDSL is widely available. Under the rule of Hosni Mubarak, Internet censorship and surveillance were severe, culminating in a total shutdown of the Internet in Egypt during the 2011 Revolution. Although Internet access was restored following Mubarak's order, government censorship and surveillance have increased since the 2013 coup d'état, leading the NGO Freedom House to downgrade Egypt's Internet freedom from "partly free" in 2011 to "not free" in 2015, which it has retained in subsequent reports including the most recent in 2021. The el-Sisi regime has ramped up online censorship in Egypt. The regime heavily censors online news websites, which has prompted the closure of many independent news outlets in Egypt.

Bahrain has been connected to the internet since 1995, and made it readily available to its citizens. The country's domain suffix is '.bh'. A 2004 study showed a liberal filtering system is used in Bahrain, one which can be easily bypassed, however more recent events have shown more sophisticated and pervasive filtering. In January 2009, Bahrain has started blocking a vastly increased number of sites through the Information Affairs Authority (IAA). The new filtering has had a noticeable impact in internet access speeds for all traffic.

Use of the Internet in Qatar has grown rapidly and is now widespread, but Internet access is also heavily filtered.

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) was a non-governmental organization devoted to promoting freedom of expression across the Middle East and North Africa. It was founded in the year 2004. Based in Cairo, Egypt, the organization was founded by prominent Egyptian attorney and human rights activist Gamal Eid, who also served as the ANHRI's executive director. The ANHRI collected publications, campaigns, reports, and statements from almost 140 Arab human rights organizations across the region and republished them in a daily digest on its website. The group focused on supporting free expression, especially via the internet and mass media, and worked on behalf of persons regarded as having been detained on political grounds. It also advocated against censorship by Arab governments.

Censorship in Bangladesh refers to the government censorship of the press and infringement of freedom of speech. Article 39 of the constitution of Bangladesh protects free speech.

Internet censorship in Syria is extensive; with numerous websites and online platforms being banned for political reasons. Internet usage is authorized only through state-run servers and people accessing through other means are arrested. Filtering and blocking was found to be pervasive in the political and Internet tools areas, and selective in the social and conflict/security areas by the OpenNet Initiative in August 2009.

This list of Internet censorship and surveillance by country provides information on the types and levels of Internet censorship and surveillance that is occurring in countries around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet censorship in South Korea</span> Overview of Internet censorship in South Korea

Internet censorship in South Korea is prevalent, and contains some unique elements such as the blocking of pro-North Korea websites, and to a lesser extent, Japanese websites, which led to it being categorized as "pervasive" in the conflict/security area by OpenNet Initiative. South Korea is also one of the few developed countries where pornography is largely illegal, with the exception of social media websites which are a common source of legal pornography in the country. Any and all material deemed "harmful" or subversive by the state is censored. The country also has a "cyber defamation law", which allow the police to crack down on comments deemed "hateful" without any reports from victims, with citizens being sentenced for such offenses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nawaat</span>

Nawaat is an independent collective blog co-founded by Tunisians Sami Ben Gharbia, Sufian Guerfali and Riadh Guerfali in 2004, with Malek Khadraoui joining the organization in 2006. The goal of Nawaat's founders was to provide a public platform for Tunisian dissident voices and debates. Nawaat aggregates articles, visual media, and other data from a variety of sources to provide a forum for citizen journalists to express their opinions on current events. The site does not receive any donations from political parties. During the events leading to the Tunisian Revolution of 2011, Nawaat advised Internet users in Tunisia and other Arab nations about the dangers of being identified online and offered advice about circumventing censorship. Nawaat is an Arabic word meaning core. Nawaat has received numerous awards from international media organizations in the wake of the Arab Spring wave of revolutions throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

The level of Internet censorship in the Arab Spring was escalated. Lack of Internet freedom was a tactic employed by authorities to quell protests. Rulers and governments across the Arab world utilized the law, technology, and violence to control what was being posted on and disseminated through the Internet. In Egypt, Libya, and Syria, the populations witnessed full Internet shutdowns as their respective governments attempted to quell protests. In Tunisia, the government of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali hacked into and stole passwords from citizens' Facebook accounts. In Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, bloggers and "netizens" were arrested and some are alleged to have been killed. The developments since the beginning of the Arab Spring in 2010 have raised the issue of Internet access as a human right and have revealed the type of power certain authoritarian governments retain over the people and the Internet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Censorship in Islamic societies</span> Curtailment of freedom of expression

Islamic teachings and argument have been used to censor opinions and writings throughout history, up to and including the modern era, and thus there are many cases of censorship in Islamic societies. One example is the fatwa against The Satanic Verses, ordering that the author be executed for blasphemy. Depictions of Muhammad have inspired considerable controversy and censorship. Some Islamic societies have religious police, who enforce the application of Islamic Sharia law.

The Kingdom of Bahrain is deemed ‘Not Free’ in terms of Net Freedom and Press Freedom by Freedom House. The 2016 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders ranked Bahrain 162nd out of 180 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet censorship and surveillance in Asia</span>

This list of Internet censorship and surveillance in Asia provides information on the types and levels of Internet censorship and surveillance that is occurring in countries in Asia

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet censorship and surveillance in Africa</span>

This list of Internet censorship and surveillance in Africa provides information on the types and levels of Internet censorship and surveillance that is occurring in countries in Africa.

References

  1. 1 2 "Ten Most Censored Countries". Committee to Protect Journalists.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  2. ↑ "How Do Countries Censor the Web?". Arbitrage Magazine Inc.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  3. 1 2 "Beset by Online Surveillance and Content Filtering, Netizens Fight On". Reporters Without Borders.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  4. ↑ "How Governments Handle the News". The Economist.
  5. ↑ Ayad, Christophe. "Middle East: Media Pluralism Via. Satellite". UNESCO Courier.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  6. ↑ MacKinnon, Rebecca (2012). Activism. New York: New York: Basic. pp. 22–24.
  7. ↑ Shishkina, Alisa; Issaev, Leonid (2018). "Internet Censorship in Arab Countries: Religious and Moral Aspects". Religions. 9 (11): 358. doi: 10.3390/rel9110358 .
  8. ↑ "Egypt leads the pack in internet censorship across the Middle East". Atlantic Council. 2018-08-28. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  9. ↑ "Egypt leads the pack in internet censorship across the Middle East". Atlantic Council. 2018-08-28. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  10. ↑ "Egypt: End the blocking of news websites". ARTICLE 19. August 2022. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
  11. ↑ "Qatar: Repressive new law further curbs freedom of expression". www.amnesty.org. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  12. ↑ "Al Meezan - Qatary Legal Portal | Legislations | Law No. 8 of 1979 on Publications and Publishing". www.almeezan.qa. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
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