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<title>Techdirt. Stories filed under &quot;kuwait&quot;</title>
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<image><title>Techdirt. Stories filed under &quot;kuwait&quot;</title><url>http://www.techdirt.com/images/td-88x31.gif</url><link>http://www.techdirt.com/</link></image>
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<pubDate>Wed, 9 Jan 2013 13:51:53 PST</pubDate>
<title>Kuwait's Decision To Jail People For 'Insulting' Tweets Sets A Dangerous Precedent</title>
<dc:creator>Mike Masnick</dc:creator>
<link>http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130109/08292221618/kuwaits-decision-to-jail-people-insulting-tweets-sets-dangerous-precedent.shtml</link>
<guid>http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130109/08292221618/kuwaits-decision-to-jail-people-insulting-tweets-sets-dangerous-precedent.shtml</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Kuwait has generally been a much more open and free society than some of its neighbors in the region, but there's been troubling news lately concerning the decision to <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/06/kuwait-jail-insulting-emir-twitter?intcmp=239" target="_blank">put a man in jail for two years for a tweet "insulting the emir"</a> followed quickly by <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/07/kuwait-man-jail-insulting-emir" target="_blank">another man getting the same sentence</a> for the same offense.  The news reports I've seen have not reported what the tweets actually said, but no matter what, this kind of censorship of political discourse is extremely troubling -- especially given the country's reputation for being more open to political dialogue.
<blockquote><i>
"We've been taken by surprise because Kuwait has always been known internationally and in the Arab world as a democracy-loving country," Humidi said. "People are used to democracy, but suddenly we see the constitution being undermined."
</i></blockquote>
Of course, this is why we were so horrified by a French politician's recent efforts to <a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130103/03195521559/french-politicians-wants-twitter-to-help-censor-speech.shtml">ask Twitter</a> to help censor tweets for what French government officials deemed "hate speech."  Where do you draw the line?  Who defines what kind of "hate speech" is being censored.  I am sure that the Kuwaiti emir considers the insults directed his way a form of "hate speech," and, from there, you quickly slide into blatant political censorship.
<br /><br />
Of course, this seems only likely to backfire in a big way.  As more and more people get used to being able to discuss things freely, when a government cracks down on such free speech, they're going to react negatively.  Considering that many other countries in that region have used social media as a tool to organize protests and even to eventually overthrow a few governments, it would appear that overly sensitive Kuwaiti officials might want to learn to get thicker skins and learn that the best way to deal with "insulting" speech is to just ignore it.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130109/08292221618/kuwaits-decision-to-jail-people-insulting-tweets-sets-dangerous-precedent.shtml">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130109/08292221618/kuwaits-decision-to-jail-people-insulting-tweets-sets-dangerous-precedent.shtml#comments">Comments</a> | <a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130109/08292221618/kuwaits-decision-to-jail-people-insulting-tweets-sets-dangerous-precedent.shtml?op=sharethis">Email This Story</a><br />
 ]]></description>
<slash:department>not-good-for-freedom</slash:department>
<wfw:commentRss>http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20130109/08292221618</wfw:commentRss>
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<pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 10:46:00 PDT</pubDate>
<title>If You Meet A Censor, Ask Why They Haven't Become Moral Degenerates Themselves</title>
<dc:creator>Mike Masnick</dc:creator>
<link>http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120514/03060618904/if-you-meet-censor-ask-why-they-havent-become-moral-degenerates-themselves.shtml</link>
<guid>http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120514/03060618904/if-you-meet-censor-ask-why-they-havent-become-moral-degenerates-themselves.shtml</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Last year, we wrote about one of China's chief censors, the creator of the Great Firewall of China, who did an <a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110218/01583213162/father-great-firewall-defends-chinese-internet-censorship-noting-us-does-same-thing.shtml">interview</a> where he talked about how important censorship was to protect people -- while also noting that he, himself, had five VPN accounts to get around the Great Firewall... for research purpose only (he promised).  I'm reminded of this while reading <a href="http://news.kuwaittimes.net/2012/05/03/read-no-evil-senior-censor-defends-work-denies-playing-big-brother/" target="_blank">an interview with a Kuwaiti censor</a> who seems quite proud of her role in keeping horrible content from being consumed by people in Kuwait -- while also talking about how much she gets to learn in reading all this content.
<br /><br />
I found out about this interview from Adam Thierer, who has a simple question he thinks <a href="http://techliberation.com/2012/05/10/if-you-meet-a-censor-ask-them-this-one-question/" target="_blank">every censor should be asked</a>:
<blockquote><i>
But here&#8217;s where the reporter missed a golden opportunity to ask Dalal the one question that you must always ask a censor if you get to meet one: <b>If the content you are censoring is so destructive to the human soul or psyche, how then is it that you are such a well-adjusted person?</b>  And Dalal certainly seems like a well-adjusted person. Although the reporter doesn&#8217;t tell us much about her personal life or circumstances, Dalal volunteers this much about herself and her fellow censors: &#8220;Many people consider the censor to be a fanatic and uneducated person, but this isn&#8217;t true. We are the most literate people as we have read much, almost every day. We receive a lot of information from different fields. We read books for children, religious books, political, philosophical, scientific ones and many others.&#8221; Well of course you do... because you are lucky enough to have access to all that content! But you are also taking steps to make sure the rest of your society doesn&#8217;t consume it on the theory that it would harm them or harm public morals in some fashion.  But, again, how is it that you have not been utterly corrupted by it all, Ms. Dalal? After all, you get to consume all that impure, sacrilegious, and salacious stuff! Shouldn&#8217;t you be some kind of monster by now?
</i></blockquote>
Thierer goes on to posit that the "Third-Person Effect Hypothesis" explains the issue.  It says that "people will tend to overestimate the influence that mass communications have on the attitudes and behavior of others," while assuming, however, that <i>they</i> are somewhat immune to those effects.  It's an interesting post, and that question should be used whenever anyone has the pleasure of meeting (or better yet, interviewing) an official government censor.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120514/03060618904/if-you-meet-censor-ask-why-they-havent-become-moral-degenerates-themselves.shtml">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120514/03060618904/if-you-meet-censor-ask-why-they-havent-become-moral-degenerates-themselves.shtml#comments">Comments</a> | <a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120514/03060618904/if-you-meet-censor-ask-why-they-havent-become-moral-degenerates-themselves.shtml?op=sharethis">Email This Story</a><br />
 ]]></description>
<slash:department>simple-questions</slash:department>
<wfw:commentRss>http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20120514/03060618904</wfw:commentRss>
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<pubDate>Thu, 3 May 2012 23:56:00 PDT</pubDate>
<title>Kuwait Says Social Networks Must Be Regulated To 'Safeguard The Cohesiveness Of Society'</title>
<dc:creator>Mike Masnick</dc:creator>
<link>http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120502/18145618748/kuwait-says-social-networks-must-be-regulated-to-safeguard-cohesiveness-society.shtml</link>
<guid>http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120502/18145618748/kuwait-says-social-networks-must-be-regulated-to-safeguard-cohesiveness-society.shtml</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Apparently, an unregulated Twitter and Facebook might lead to society coming apart at the seams.  At least that appears to be the somewhat ridiculous assertion of the Kuwaiti government as it <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/05/kuwait-prepares-crack-down-social-media" target="_blank">prepares to regulate the usage of social networking sites</a>, officially in order to "safeguard the cohesiveness of the population and society." Of course, that's silly.  Social networking tools are used all the time to bring people together and to have discussions -- and also for less socially beneficial reasons.  But the technology is just a tool for communication.  By itself, it's neither good nor bad.  Of course, given how those tools have been useful in larger protests and even regime changes around the Middle East over the past 18 months, one might guess that this new crackdown is a bit more about safeguarding the power of the existing government.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120502/18145618748/kuwait-says-social-networks-must-be-regulated-to-safeguard-cohesiveness-society.shtml">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120502/18145618748/kuwait-says-social-networks-must-be-regulated-to-safeguard-cohesiveness-society.shtml#comments">Comments</a> | <a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120502/18145618748/kuwait-says-social-networks-must-be-regulated-to-safeguard-cohesiveness-society.shtml?op=sharethis">Email This Story</a><br />
 ]]></description>
<slash:department>i-had-no-idea-it-was-at-risk</slash:department>
<wfw:commentRss>http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20120502/18145618748</wfw:commentRss>
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<pubDate>Thu, 3 Feb 2011 05:29:05 PST</pubDate>
<title>Kuwaiti Blogger Sued After Negative Benihana Review</title>
<dc:creator>Mike Masnick</dc:creator>
<link>http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110202/02342012921/kuwaiti-blogger-sued-after-negative-benihana-review.shtml</link>
<guid>http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110202/02342012921/kuwaiti-blogger-sued-after-negative-benihana-review.shtml</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ <a href="http://idle.slashdot.org/story/11/02/01/1511236/Blogger-Sued-By-Restaurant-For-Bad-Review?from=twitter" target="_blank">Slashdot</a> points us to the news that the folks who manage a Benihana chain restaurant in Kuwait are apparently unfamiliar with the Streisand Effect.  A Kuwaiti blogger, for the site 248am, wrote up <a href="http://www.248am.com/mark/kuwait/my-benihana-experience/" target="_blank">a negative review</a> of a newly opened Benihana restaurant, including a couple of videos he shot in the restaurant.  The review seems perfectly fair.  He liked some of the food, but found some of it to be really bad, such that he had no intention of going back.  A day after the review appeared, a guy named Mike Servo, claiming to represent Benihana management in Kuwait wrote a comment on the blog <a href="http://www.248am.com/mark/kuwait/my-benihana-experience/#comment-511529" target="-blank">complaining about the review</a> and promising to sue.  Here's just a snippet:
<blockquote><i>
I also found it out that our rights and name is being used in a wrong way and broadcasting the video without a proper consent from us is really annoying specially Benihana is just opened up its doors to the public.
<br /><br />
We are seeking and consulting our legal dept. on how we can form a type of law suit against your website to be brought up to the Kuwait authorities.
<br /><br />
We respect opinion, but we see it in a way that Benihana name have been destroyed and abused on your website.
<br /><br />
We are eager to know your name and meet you personally if you don&rsquo;t have anything to hide.
</i></blockquote>
Servo then interacts with several of the commenters who suggest (perhaps accurately) that he's being ridiculous.  Rather than take that to heart, Servo apparently decided to <a href="http://www.248am.com/mark/kuwait/im-being-sued-by-benihana/" target="_blank">push forward with the lawsuit</a>, in which they set forth a conspiracy theory that the blogger was purposely trashing Benihana in connection with his job at an advertising agency.  Either way, the blogger is fighting the lawsuit, saying that he doesn't believe the original post was libel at all.  Hopefully the courts agree.  An English translation of the original complaint is embedded below.
<br /><br />
In the meantime, however, Benihana itself (beyond just the local franchise) has been getting a ton of attention over this issue.  Not only has this decision to sue created a <i>lot</i> more attention for the negative review, but it's impacting the wider Benihana chain.  I would argue that the negative publicity over a bogus lawsuit is likely to have a much larger impact than a single review involving a guy who got some bad chicken.  Accidents like that happen.  Suing a critic over a negative review is not an accident, but a specific decision, and the company is now paying the price for making such a decision that only serves to raise more questions about why anyone would support such a restaurant.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110202/02342012921/kuwaiti-blogger-sued-after-negative-benihana-review.shtml">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110202/02342012921/kuwaiti-blogger-sued-after-negative-benihana-review.shtml#comments">Comments</a> | <a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110202/02342012921/kuwaiti-blogger-sued-after-negative-benihana-review.shtml?op=sharethis">Email This Story</a><br />
 ]]></description>
<slash:department>well-that'll-help</slash:department>
<wfw:commentRss>http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20110202/02342012921</wfw:commentRss>
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<pubDate>Wed, 24 Nov 2010 08:26:40 PST</pubDate>
<title>Kuwait Bans Cameras With Big Lenses -- Because People Might Get Worried [Updated]</title>
<dc:creator>Mike Masnick</dc:creator>
<link>http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101123/02262611983/kuwait-bans-cameras-with-big-lenses----because-people-might-get-worried.shtml</link>
<guid>http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101123/02262611983/kuwait-bans-cameras-with-big-lenses----because-people-might-get-worried.shtml</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ <i><b>Update</b>: And, um, this story just got odder as the original article has been updated to state that the reporter got it flat out wrong, and no such ban has been instituted by the Kuwaiti government.  I'm not exactly sure how one goes about getting such basic information totally wrong, but consider the rest of this post here for posterity, rather than accuracy.</i>
<br><Br>
This one is just confusing.  According to the LA Times, Kuwait has announced that <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2010/11/kuwait-ban-photography-porn-websites-privatization-phone-mail-services-censorship-control.html" target="_blank">cameras with big lenses (i.e., DSLRs) are banned for use in public in the country</a> -- with an exception for "journalism purposes."  If it seems unclear as to why DSLRs were singled out, while smaller point-and-shoots and camera phones are allowed, it appears that <a href="http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=MzAwMTg4ODg1" target="_blank">folks in Kuwait don't understand it either</a>.  The best they can come up with is that many people haven't been "exposed to art," and won't know what a big camera is for.
<blockquote><i>
What most Kuwaiti photographers have come to wonder is how such a decision could be reached by authorities, especially considering that digital cameras and cell phone cameras have the same abilities. What most people think of photography as a hobby has become a bit misguided due to the fact that the country has so little exposure to art. While using a DSLR, passersby may wonder if the camera is being used for the wrong reasons.... What often happens is that a big black camera tends to worry people. Taking a picture of a stranger would seem like much less of an issue if you were using a more discreet camera or even a cell phone.
</i></blockquote>
If you thought some laws in the US didn't make much sense, at least you can be happy knowing that other countries are even more bizarre.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101123/02262611983/kuwait-bans-cameras-with-big-lenses----because-people-might-get-worried.shtml">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101123/02262611983/kuwait-bans-cameras-with-big-lenses----because-people-might-get-worried.shtml#comments">Comments</a> | <a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101123/02262611983/kuwait-bans-cameras-with-big-lenses----because-people-might-get-worried.shtml?op=sharethis">Email This Story</a><br />
 ]]></description>
<slash:department>huh?</slash:department>
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