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Saudi Limits Internet Use ‘to Fight Terror, Porn’

Saudi Arabia recently passed a law limiting the use of internet in an attempt to fight terror and immoral activities, the news portal Arabian Business reported.
 
The new law forbids airing websites containing incitement to terrorism, pornography, defamation, fraud, violation of religious values, and disregard for public etiquette.
 
A person found guilty of operating a terror website faces up to 10 years in prison and a $1.3 million fine.
 
Site owners, who show pornography and contents violating religious values, may receive up to five years in jail and a $800,000 fine.
 
The new law was introduced to "combat IT-related crimes that threaten the security and safety of human societies," the Saudi Interior Ministry said.
 
On December 10th, the Saudi authorities arrested Fuad Al-Farhan, a local blogger. Al-Farhan was arrested for investigation regarding "suspicions not connected to security matters," Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry Spokesman Man’sour A-Turki said.
 
Following the arrest, Al-Farhan’s friends posted a letter allegedly from the blogger himself in which said he believed the authorities were targeting him because he "wrote about political prisoners in Saudi Arabia."
 
Today there are hundreds of Saudi Bloggers, who rarely use their real names. Al-Farhan was one of the few who do. Ahmad Al-Omran, a Saudi blogger, said he believed Al-Farhan’s arrest may be an attempt to intimidate other bloggers.