Saudi Arabia wants Skype, Viber and WhatsApp to comply with government rules

The Communications and Information Technology Commission of Saudi Arabia (CITC) has accused Skype, Viber and WhatsApp of law violations and stated that it will take “suitable measures” if they fail to follow its recommendations.

“Some telecom applications over the Internet protocol currently do not meet the regulatory conditions,” CITC said in a statement. Still, the exact rules, which were violated, CITC didn’t specify. Internet-providers are recommended to start cooperating with the developers of controversial apps in order to bring them into compliance with the rules.

Members of CITC claim that such measures are necessary “to protect society from any negative aspects that could harm the public interest.”

Previously, the government required local providers to develop the instruments to monitor the messages shared by the users online. It should be noted, that the UAE government has already blocked Skype and Viber.

“People have to take care of what they are writing on Twitter,” the Minister for Culture and Information Abdul Aziz Khoja said in a February statement. In 2010, Saudi Arabia banned sending and receiving messages using Blackberry phones because these messages are encrypted and could not be monitored, therefore hindering the country’s efforts to fight terrorism and crime.