Saudi Arabia Starts Clamping Down On Encrypted VoIP Services; US And UK Strangely Silent On The Moves
from the awkward dept
Earlier this month, the messaging service Viber was blocked in Saudi Arabia. This was not entirely unexpected, since the authorities had been trying to come to grips with the service and its ability to encrypt messages for a while according to Viber's founder, as a BBC News report explains:
Mr Marco told the BBC that Saudi internet service providers and mobile operators started asking for information about the internal workings of the service a couple of months ago.
Back in March of this year, another BBC story noted that two other encrypted messaging services -- Skype and WhatsApp -- were also being told to make it possible for the authorities to eavesdrop on communications. In the wake of the Viber ban, there are now concerns that WhatsApp, Skype and the Tango messaging service may fall afoul of the Saudi authorities' desire to bring these new technologies under control.
"We assumed that the reason they wanted it was to try to figure out ways to tap into our conversations, listen to what our users are saying, read messages," he said.
A few weeks ago, this clear attempt to ensure that citizens in Saudi Arabia could be routinely spied upon when using popular new communication services would doubtless have prompted denunciations from Western countries of these clear threats to privacy and personal freedom. But in the light of the revelations about the large-scale snooping being carried out by the NSA in the US and GCHQ in the UK, that is hardly an option. This shows once more how increasing surveillance in the West gives those in other parts of the world a free pass to do the same.
Follow me @glynmoody on Twitter or identi.ca, and on Google+
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: encryption, saudi arabia, surveillance, voip
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Good. They saved themselves more hypocrisy.
two other encrypted messaging services -- Skype and WhatsApp -- were also being told to make it possible for the authorities to eavesdrop on communications
What? Don't they already support it? Free cash with no work, if you ask me.
They probably worried that it'll used to oppress the People of Saudi Arabia. /s
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Saudi Arabia and some other Middle Eastern countries are the dirty that nobody wants to touch.
They still have some very gruesome public punishments in place.
Human rights are almost nonexistent in the Saudi fiefdom so it is no surprises there.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_Saudi_Arabia
http://au.ibtimes.com/ar ticles/469801/20130522/saudi-arabia-execution-5-yemenis-yemen-firing.htm
https://www.amnesty.org/en /news/saudi-arabia-five-beheaded-and-crucified-amid-disturbing-rise-executions-2013-05-21
Quote:
http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-saudi-arabia
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
No one would say anything even if there wasn't any ongoing domestic scandal - thou shan't offend the people who control the oil pipe and are friendly. Not friendly people with an oil pipe get bombed into the stone age though.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Why western governments accept those things and never talk about it?
Oil and OPEC that is why.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Monkey see monkey do.
See: Clipper Chip. So it's no surprise at all that the US is "strangely silent." It's a case of monkey see money do.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
The law of unintended (bot forseeable) consequences.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: The law of unintended (bot forseeable) consequences.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
US does not protest Saudi eavesdropping on encrypted communications?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Silence is compliance
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Silence
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
No Issues
Anyways, if you feel that you need cheaper alternative to make Saudi Arabia to India calls at lowest price. Check our website.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
About Voip Calls
http://goo.gl/aitxHJ
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
jobs in saudi arabia
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
jobs in saudi arabia
[ link to this | view in chronology ]