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As of late, most of us in the region have already heard the news regarding the new censorship laws in Jordan. Some of the report reads as follows:
Free speech and thought is a trait of mature societies and economies. Depriving people from freely expressing themselves is a major step in the wrong direction. To say the least this will be a recipe for disaster that will butt-heads with the entrepreneurial ecosystem we are trying so hard to build in Jordan. Let's think twice about this - for the long term. It's the internet and sadly some authorities have realized that it has gone mainstream. How will these changes affect you & your startup? For more info on this, check out Gaith's post on Arabcrunch.com here |
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What's their definition of "wrong"?.....Just when I thought we were getting more sophisticated... first, they closed down books@cafe and now this!! I'm shocked and very disappointed. |
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In all honesty, I really don't think it will. I mean sure it's bad. It's really bad, in fact. But it's no different than how things have always run, editorially speaking. And when you're a web start-up based in Jordan, chances are you're servicing the region, including Saudi. So other than overstepping Jordanian political red lines (which for all intents and purposes, you probably wouldn't anyway), your self-censorship of content will most likely be business as usual! The main target of the widened interpretation of the archaic press and publications law are the tabloids who have disappeared off the weekly print format and have regrouped online. Not bloggers. Not tweeters. And certainly not SMS users! |
