December 16, 2004
Saudi Arabia to permit camera phones, paper says
According to SignOnSanDiego.com, Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper reported on Thursday that Saudi Arabia will overturn a ban on the import and sale of mobile camera phones in the conservative Muslim kingdom.
"Although widely used across the country, camera phones are illegal in Saudi Arabia and have been condemned by religious leaders who say they are used to invade privacy, particularly of women.
Al-Eqtisadiah quoted unnamed sources as saying authorities had asked the Interior Ministry to put in place regulations to prevent "the negative use of the camera equipment in the phone."
Officials were not immediately available to comment on the report. "
Related articles on this issue:
-- Female Students With Mobile Phones Face Campus Ban, Fines- Saudi - Female college students carrying cameraphones on campus in any college in Saudi Arabia could face a SR500 fine and 3-year suspension under recent regulations issued by the Ministry of Education.
-- Will Saudi Arabia lift ban on cam-equipped mobiles? - Four Saudi ministries have appealed to King Fahd to reverse a ban on camera-equipped mobile phones in the kingdom.
-- Religious edict bars camera phones in Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia's highest religious authority has issued an edict barring the use of cell phones with built-in cameras, blaming them for "spreading obscenity" — a final resort after a ban on their sale and import to the kingdom failed to dent their popularity
-- Saudi women beaten for mobile phone snapping - Two Saudi women were badly beaten by other female guests at a wedding party in the kingdom when they were seen using a mobile phone to photograph the segregated celebration
-- Mobile pictures spark violence - A wedding party in Saudi Arabia turned violent after a female guest was caught using her mobile phone to take digital photographs of other women at the celebration.
-- Footage of an assault in Saudi Arabia through cameraphones - A rape scandal broke after the two men reportedly circulated footage of the assault through mobile phones equipped with cameras.
-- Woman fired over mobile snapshots - A Saudi woman has been expelled from her university for taking pictures of unveiled colleagues with a camera-equipped mobile phone osting them on the Internet.
-- Saudi Arabia and phonecams When the Saudi people finally rise up in revolt and throw out the House of Saud," fellow Saudi blogger, Alhamedi Alanezi says, " it won't be for democratic reform, and it won't be for an islamic republic. It'll be about mobile phones".
-- Saudi Arabia enforces ban on camera phones - The Saudi government began enforcing a ban on the sale of camera-equipped mobile phones.
-- Banned Camera Phones Selling Like Hot Cakes in Jeddah's Black Market - Mobile camera phones are hot sellers this Eid season - a celebration to mark the end of Islam's holiest season - despite a Kingdomwide ban and a significant increase in retail price.
Also
- Kuwait: Three years jail proposed for misuse of Bluetooth - A senior member of parliament has proposed a draft law stipulating a jail term of between six months and three years for the misuse of the Bluetooth technology, especially in mobile phones, in invading personal privacy.
The Permanent Link to this page is: http://www.textually.org/picturephoning/archives/2004/12/006425.htm