The Internet predicament in the Middle East and North Africa: connectivity, access and censorship  

Oleh:

Houissa, Ali

Jenis: Article from Journal - ilmiah internasional
Dalam koleksi: Journal of Librarianship and Information Science vol. 32 no. 2 (2008), page 56-63.
Fulltext: 56.pdf (1.03MB)

Isi artikel

Initial enthusiasm for the Internet, by countries in the Middle East and North Africa, has been tempered by extreme caution and ambivalence on the part of government and religious organizations, the concern focusing on those aspects of the Internet which are seen by its enthusiasts as its greatest advantages: complete openness and lack of regulation. Fearing its subversive potential, governments are trying to erect legal and technical barriers limiting its free use. Other factors limiting growth of the Internet include the relative high cost of computer hardware, excessive telecommunication charges in many countries, the dominance of English language and the fairly limited computer literacy in the region. These and other issues are reviewed on a country basis, including: Internet connectivity, services and costs; the Internet subscriber boom in selected Middle East countries; the dominance of English-language materials on the Internet; the problems posed by non- Roman scripts; and control and regulation issues. Concludes that even restricted access to the Internet in these countries is preferable to none and points to the paradox that, while excessive effort is exerted by authorities to control contents and free online access, the same authorities exhibit an almost deliberate tolerance of software pirating and copyright infringement.

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