Saudi Arabia has called for setting up of a new international body to censor offensive content on the internet, following the fury against the anti-Islam movie posted on Google’s YouTube.
Saudi Arabia, in its submission to the upcoming international meetings on internet authority said that there is an urgent requirement for international partnership in a bid to deal with the ‘freedom of expression’ which clearly ignores public order.
The Gulf State’s move follows the posting of a 14-minute video clip, ‘The Innocence of Muslims’ that sparked violence worldwide, especially in Muslim countries.
According to the Telegraph, the Saudi government has told World Telecommunications Policy Forum that censoring such posts at the source, and compared it with the prohibited content including images of child abuse and malicious software.
"Any reasonable person would know that this film would foment violence and, indeed, many innocent persons have died and been injured with this film as a root cause," Saugi government said in its submission.
"This behaviour, along with other malicious and criminal activities such as child pornography, identity theft, spam, denial of service attacks, and malware aimed at destroying or crippling businesses, inter alia, must be addressed by states in a collaborative and cooperative environment and strongly underscores the need for enhanced cooperation."
Saudi Arabia’s move also emphasises the rise in interest in internet governance conversations from nations that do not distribute Western liberal significances, as access to and the rise in influence of the web.
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