Slashdot Mirror
Saudi Arabia Requiring License For Online Media
Beetle B. writes "According to Saudi Arabia's leading English newspaper, Arab News, online newspapers, blogs and forums will now need to register with the Ministry of Information and Culture for licenses to operate, according to new regulations that the ministry announced Saturday it is to introduce. Abdul Aziz Khoja, minister of information and culture, said that the system is 'in line with the development moves that the media sector is witnessing.' He added that the rules do not include any clauses restricting freedom of speech and that the ministry is eager to ensure there is transparency. He also said that the rules will be made open to improvement in the future."
They just revoke your license when you say something they don't like.
Because terrorists might run them, and we have to make sure there is accountability. We can't have an anarchy on the internet, it's too important!
And we won't use it to restrict political views or leaks of embarrassing information.
At first.
No, we should limit their control over us at every turn in which they attempt to usurp more power for themselves.
No Goverment = Anarachy = Bad
Total Government = Totalitarinism = Bad
Limited Government = A lot better than the above two choices.
Tsukasa: All I really want, is to be left alone...
Governments are the most corrupt organizations on the planet? Yes because everyone knows that big corporations are actually run by angels and bunnies, who would never do anything wrong...
Anyways, when he was younger, his dad made the comment to him that, when he got older, one would need a license to fish, hunt, and cut firewood. He also predicted that, eventually, you would only be allowed to do these things in certain, designated parts of the wilderness, rather than anywhere the road ended in bush.
Some of this is just population growth. Fishing licenses have always struck me as silly, at least for non-commercial fishermen using poles instead of nets. But when it comes to hunting and felling trees, if everyone was allowed unlimited access, we'd run out of trees and deer pretty damn quick, just like we did with the buffalo. Licensing just prevents (or at least delays) the tragedy of the commons.
If there were fewer of us, as their were in our grandparents' day, we could probably go back to having fewer restrictions. Of course, to get there, we'd need to start licensing reproduction.
Proud member of the Weirdo-American community.