The world’s largest oil producing country, Saudi Arabia plans to block internet-based communication tool such as WhatsApp within weeks if the U.S.-based firm fails to comply with requirements set by the Kingdom’s telecom regulator.
The plan banning of WhatsApp will soon follow the fate of Viber after it was banned by the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), the reason for the ban because it is hard for the state to monitor and deprives telecom companies of revenue from international calls and texts.
According to Abdullah Al-Darrab, governor of the CITC, who told Arab News that the reason why Viber was blocked last week for non-compliance of their order. He also add that WhatsApp and Skype may be the next on the list.
He was quoted as saying that, “We have been communicating with WhatsApp and other similar communication platforms to get them to cooperate and comply with the Saudi telecom providers, however nothing has come of this communication yet,” Abdullah Al-Darrab, governor of the CITC, told Arab News.
