The Mideast nation of Bahrain is about to open a study on whether to restrict Internet-based telecom services such as VoIP, the communications minister of the Arab state said, although no final decision appears to be imminent.
The development comes as a number of Mideast states attempt to curb or stop the widespread use of the technology that allows free, unmonitored calls into and out of the region. It was Internet-based communications including VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), instant messaging and social media that helped anti-government activists launch the so-called “Arab spring” uprisings that toppled long-standing rulers in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya in 2011.
Bahrain, a majority Shi'ite country ruled by the Sunni al Khalifa family, has also been buffeted by political unrest since 2011, with mostly Shi'ite Bahrainis agitating for democratic reforms and a greater say in government, Reuters (News - Alert) reports.
Opposition leaders favor VoIP because of its low (or no) cost, and the fact that such calls are harder to bug than those made over a regular phone line. VoIP allows free Internet-to-Internet phone calls and messaging, while tariffs for Internet-to-mobile or landline phones are dramatically cheaper than by conventional means. But the government says that’s not the only reason it’s considering a ban on the technology.
"There are examples of VoIP technology being used for pornography, which naturally clashes with our values in the kingdom," said Bahrain's Minister of State for Communications, Sheikh Fawaz bin Mohammed al-Khalifa. "We also would not want technology being used to subvert state security, or be used in fraudulent enterprises like phishing and identity theft."
Since the Arab Spring uprisings, several Gulf governments have pushed for greater oversight and control of VoIP and other hard-to-trace communication tools such as BlackBerry (News - Alert) Messenger, Reuters notes. In fact, just last month the Saudi government banned VoIP provider Viber from the kingdom.
Edited by Rachel Ramsey