Dissidents, journalists, and activists in the Gulf face retaliation, from censorship to imprisonment, for posting their beliefs on social media, argues Human Rights Watch in a new campaign and report called “140 Characters.”
“Gulf States are intimidating, surveilling, imprisoning, and silencing activists as part of their all-out assault on peaceful criticism, but they are seriously mistaken if they think they can indefinitely block gulf citizens from using social and other media to push for positive reforms,” Sarah Lee Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch wrote.
Social media’s popularity is expanding in the Middle East; over 17 million people opened up new Facebook accounts in the first quarter of 2014, according to a study conducted by the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government. Use of Twitter, WhatsApp, YouTube, and other platforms is also on the rise.
“Hundreds” have been jailed or worse in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates as a result of their social media use, Human Rights Watch writes.
In addition to condemning Gulf leaders for cracking down on social media activism since the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011, the human rights group draws attention to their use of often highly advanced surveillance tools to track them down.
The Intercept has highlighted multiple instances of Gulf state officials purchasing sophisticated surveillance equipment. In the United Arab Emirates, DarkMatter — a cybersecurity company — has been working to hire an army of hackers to build surveillance capabilities for the Gulf nation, though the company still denies its involvement.
The UAE government, however, has already purchased equipment like Internet monitoring tools from BAE Systems, and been linked to using hacking exploits from Israeli company NSO Group. These types of tools have also been discovered in Saudi Arabia — including software that hacks into mobile phones giving total access, including control of the camera and microphone.
Top photo: Saudi security personnel monitor travelers and citizens near Mecca on Oct. 27, 2012.
WOW! You mean that Middle Eastern country leaders are as crazy as our own? I would respond by saying that the US Intel community has trained them well.
I lost count of the number of Americans who have been SWAT teamed because they “emoted” on Twitter.
Surprising? No. Why? Bill Clinton’s and the Clinton Foundation thru the CF Global Initiative crap has been selling ObamaPhones and Cellphone Intel infrastructure to criminal dictatorships and despots around the world (including places like Rwanda (former) and Nigeria).
And isn’t this precisely what is happening here in our own United States?
You can also add Thailand to your list. Maybe its Kingdoms that dislike any sort of discussion. Long prison sentences here too.
So ironic that countries that are soooo rich in oil money somehow appear to be poorest at everything else.
They do not seem to have any security companies of their own that can provide the services that need and pay for from others beyond the sand line.
They do not seem to have, or capable of producing, engineers capable of developing hardware and software tools that are equal or better than the ones they purchase from beyond the sand line.
One could go on and on…
So their suppression of thoughts and ideas is all they appear to know how to do best.
Gee, Jenna, get your head out of the sand and stop trying to win points. Israel is the biggest censor and intimidator out there but you can’t talk about that can you? Start being a journalist instead of a bought off hack, it doesn’t become you. The Gulf state have nothing on Israel:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Israel
http://newobserveronline.com/israel-demands-world-internet-censorship/
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israels-minister-culture-cracks-down-tv-station-palestinians-235969809
http://www.salon.com/2016/08/26/israels-war-on-open-discourse-state-censorship-now-reaches-into-international-news-sources-and-social-media/
http://www.ifamericansknew.org/media/sides.html
Israel is very much allied with the Gulf states – had you not noticed?
Really? Then why doesn’t she mention them by name? Also, Israel is not a ‘Gulf State’ – had you not noticed?
As the Gulf Cooperation Council is the Sharia compliant counterpart of the European Union, its Saudi-led drive toward homogeneity of believe, purpose, and methods should predictably result in common policies and practices. As such trade blocs are essential components of the emerging global economic order, one can only conclude that regional law enforcement and intelligence mechanisms will replace their traditionally local counterparts. In fact, it was recently announced by Attorney General Loretta Lynch at the United Nations that her office would be working in several American cities to form what she called the Strong Cities Network (SCN), a law enforcement initiative that would encompass the globe:
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/10/02/obama-administration-and-un-announce-global-police-force-to-fight-extremism-in-u-s/
A global surveillance and law enforcement grid… now that is something to ponder!
Still ignoring the elephant in the room as they have been doing FAR WORSE in “secret” here for years, yet after a decade no mention of these illegal and treasonous crimes. Instead, we get smeared and ignored by the very people who claim to be exposing these crimes. Coincidence?
” The best way to control opposition is to lead it ourselves.” – Vladimir Lenin.
Look around you as your country is falling apart, all very well planned while you were warned for years of covert surveillance programs staging events. Don’t worry it will get much, much better with Hillary or Trump in office… “Believe Me”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLKuPPe1IhY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0U-Y9wKmHs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvgZWDwWqEo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg1-vao5Ta8
Aren’t the USA and Israel doing the same??
Just as all govts lie, all CORRUPT govts feel threatened by their activists and dissidents ( and of the lands they occupy ).
And Twitter themselves well silence you if you happen to disagree with activists. But at least you don’t have to fear for your life, I suppose.
BAE didn’t invent internet surveillance hardware for the Arab Emirates. They have been hawking their “black boxes” to the British since the 1990s. How many times back then did I have some idiot saying well how can’t you be against child porngraphy when it’s the voluntary libertarian market-based notion of the “Internet Watch Foundation” to scan for it using this defense contractor’s magic box? And now, sure enough, they use it to go after people for 140-word comments supporting democracy.
The “slippery slope” isn’t something the ACLU just made up. It’s not some hypothetical concept. It’s as sure as thinking that a bullet coming out of a gun is going to be going through a brain in due course. And we either have to reject these fallacies at their source, reject the very concept of obscenity in its entirety for example, or we are just getting shot whenever they take the trouble to aim.
and Hellary, the whore of
BabylonWallstreet, loves the thieving predatory evilistas.I thought long about writing a much harsher comment, Jenna, for Zaid’s and Alex’s article about Prince Abdullah Al-Saud – and his amusement with himself for so quickly comparing cluster-bombing Yemen to a wife-beating addiction. I kept coming back to an almost certain knowledge the ambassador and his secret service possess diplomatic immunity in OUR country, and how someone might think to themselves, “No, I’m on enough lists already.”
These dictatorial fiefdoms are scared of their won people. They were scared sh*tless during the Arab spring. Since they were not ready to deal with the opposition forcefully they threw billions in social welfare to silence the opposition. Now, they have spent billions to arm themselves with sophisticated security tools to surveille, control, and silence any opposition.
another great article.
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