Bloggers in the Middle East, and methods to control them.

"Blogging has flourished in the Middle East, propelled by the region’s unusually high growth rate in Internet use, and the exceedingly restrictive landscape for traditional media. This nexus of demography and repression has led activists, journalists, lawyers, and others online, where they express dissent and report information in previously unimaginable ways. ... Blogging is policed by overlapping regulations that vary across the region. Iran employs the most elaborate scheme of layered legal restrictions, but virtually all regional countries rely on three basic types of laws to restrict online expression: longstanding press and penal code provisions; emergency laws; and emerging Web-specific laws and decrees. Penal codes and press laws in the region are typically rife with vaguely defined provisions that criminalize criticism of government and material deemed insulting to religious and public officials." Committee to Protect Journalists, 14 October 2009. Posted: 14 Oct 2009 Permalink Print