Telecommunications in Saudi Arabia

The basic purpose of this paper is to explore the development of the global communication capacity within Saudi Arabia. The study includes the Internet and the World Wide Web, and the way in which the government has sought to control both access to information and egress of information.

The statement of the problem depends upon whose perspective is chosen to understand this issue. The fundamental problem with the Internet for authorities in the Middle East and elsewhere is the issue of uncontrolled information. For Saudi Arabia, the problem is that individuals with access to personal computers, and thereby the Internet, are able to gain access to information that Saudi Arabia does not wish them to have. They are able to discuss taboo subjects and participate in discussions that are forbidden to them in Saudi Arabia's strict, closed society (Ambah, 1995).

For the individual, however, the problem looks quite different. From the perspective of individuals, the problem is Saudi Arabia's attempt to deny access to information, to censor the Internet, or even eliminate access to it. Increasingly, too, the problem is Saudi Arabia's controlled society itself. The problem for the individual is that the desire to gain access to uncontrolled information is resisted, or suppressed, by the authorities. Clearly, the House of Saud is accurate in thinking that when individuals gain access to

. . .
technologies and allows for the entry of more information systems into the country, then it cannot control access to information. This likely will alter the society in fundamental ways, leading to a modernization that may undercut both fundamentalist Islamic social mores and the domination of the House of Saud. On the other hand, if the House of Saud chose to turn back the clock on modernization, which does not seem realistic, then it would lose the opportunity to become an important international power, rather than one currently on the edges of the core. Difficulties With Problem Resolution Although the problem of access to uncontrolled information within Saudi Arabia has been addressed for the moment, it has certainly not been resolved. The tentative resolution by the Saudi authorities has involved multiple efforts: 1. It has limited immediate access to hospitals and universities. 2. It has required businesses to apply for permission for access and has strictly limited approval of those applications. 3. It has vowed to crack down on those who use the Internet for discussion of taboo subjects. This latter, however, is somewhat lacking in credibility, since the Saudi government does not have the technical capacity to mak
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Saudi Arabia, Wide Web, House Saud, International Court, Saudi Arabia's, Rights Committee, Study Communication, saudi arabia, John Moore, Internet Saudis, Address Future, international law, flow information, free flow, free flow information, national security, human rights, wide web, access information, world wide web, world wide, freedom speech, contemporary perspective boulder, law contemporary perspective, perspective boulder co,
Approximate Word count = 4763
Approximate Pages = 19 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Telecommunications in Saudi Arabia