Steve Royston

‘A Step Backwards?’ Bahrain Set to Curb VoIP Services

‘A Step Backwards?’ Bahrain Set to Curb VoIP Services

STEVE ROYSTON: The reason for the crackdown is predictably ‘security’. The impact on much-needed inward investment may, however, be profound.

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

Banned Sites: Jordan’s New Legislation Takes Effect

Banned Sites: Jordan’s New Legislation Takes Effect

M. LYNX-QUALEY: As of June 2nd a published list of news websites have been formally banned in Jordan. What next?

 Steve Royston

‘Oh, How It Used To Be’: The Fate Awaiting Yahoo

‘Oh, How It Used To Be’: The Fate Awaiting Yahoo

STEVE ROYSTON: As Yahoo slips into ‘tech-middle-age’ its leaders must adapt to a reality or face inevitable extinction

 Alexander McNabb

The Day I Was Deleted: A Blogger’s Nightmare Realised

The Day I Was Deleted: A Blogger’s Nightmare Realised

ALEXANDER MCNABB: There I was – gone, an-ex blogger, deleted, an online non-entity. It was the ultimate social media, Kafka-esque nightmare.

 Crossroads Arabia

Porn: ‘Not So Popular’ In Middle East. Really?

Porn: ‘Not So Popular’ In Middle East. Really?

CROSSROADS ARABIA: In a recently published report Al Arabiya seems to have missed a rather significant point about internet access in the region

 Naseem Tarawnah

Jordan’s Internet U-Turn: Where’s the Vision Now?

Jordan’s Internet U-Turn: Where’s the Vision Now?

NASEEM TARAWNAH: Once upon a time, the Jordanian government thought censoring the Internet was a bad thing, arguing the best regulators were users themselves.

 Richard Silverstein

Legal Creep Threatening Web Site, Journalist Freedoms

Legal Creep Threatening Web Site, Journalist Freedoms

RICHARD SILVERSTEIN: “…Extraditing a UK citizen to the U.S. to prosecute him for this? For linking? Where do they plan to put him when they get him: Guantanamo?”

 Mich Cafe

Time To Stand Up and Fight for Internet Liberty

Time To Stand Up and Fight for Internet Liberty

MICH CAFE: The democratic freedoms enabled by access to the internet are under threat from a variety of sources.

 The View From Fez

Internet ‘Disaster’: A Return to Morocco’s Old Ways

Internet ‘Disaster’: A Return to Morocco’s Old Ways

REDA YAMANI, THE VIEW FROM FEZ: If ever you need a demonstration of abuse of monopoly power look to Maroc Telecom

 Alexander McNabb

The Internet in Lebanon: The Box Don’t Fit!

The Internet in Lebanon: The Box Don’t Fit!

ALEXANDER MCNABB: The Lebanese LIRA is yet another example of a government trying to define the role of online.

 Alexander McNabb

Lebanon: Yesterday’s Technology, Today

Lebanon: Yesterday’s Technology, Today

ALEXANDER MCNABB: The image above is from the Lebanese Ministry of Telecommunications website.These are the people responsible for the Internet in Lebanon…

 Alexander McNabb

Much to Lose as Calls Mount for a Regulated Web

Much to Lose as Calls Mount for a Regulated Web

ALEXANDER MCNABB: Regulating the Internet in the name of privacy and responsibility is all very well, but we also have to be wary of regulating discourse.

 Eman-Al-Nafjan

Social Media is Catalysing Arab World Change

Social Media is Catalysing Arab World Change

EMAN AL-NAFJAN: Leaders throughout the Arab World are suspicious of new media. Their citizens are using tools not simply to communicate concerns, but campaign for change.

 Ahmed-Al-Omran

The Professor Detention Debate & Twitter’s Embrace

The Professor Detention Debate & Twitter’s Embrace

AHMED AL-OMRAN: The arrest of Mohammed al-Abdulkarim, a Saudi law professor, has unleashed a fierce debate among the Kingdom’s social media community, and revealed why Twitter is such a phenomena in the Kingdom.

 Alexander McNabb

Google Voice, Censorship, Media Idiocy

Google Voice, Censorship, Media Idiocy

There has been a great deal of concern and speculation this week regarding a possible move against Google by the UAE’s telecom regulator, the TRA. Much of this concern has been triggered by appalling journalism…

 Alexander McNabb

Die Telco! Die! Facebook rings in a new order

Die Telco! Die! Facebook rings in a new order

Facebook has tossed its hat into the mobile handset ring according to TechCrunch today, joining Apple and Google, a trio five years ago you would have never have associated with the phone business.