(AFP Photo)
AFP recently reported that telecommunications companies operating in Saudi Arabia, such as the Saudi Telecom Company (STC), Mobily and Zain, requested that Saudi Arabia’s Communication and Information Technology Commission (CITC), impose restrictions on the usage of WhatsApp, Skype and Viber applications.
A high ranking source quoted by AFP said that a number of these companies requested blocks be put on these applications because of the damage they could do to the mobile networks through consuming a large proportion of the bandwidth.
AFP further reported that the CITC requested telecommunication service and internet providers in the Kingdom impose blocks and restrictions on a number of encrypted social media websites, including the same three applications.
Companies were reportedly given a week to comply with the order, with the Commission threatening to forcibly impose the ban itself if companies did not do.
The CITC could not be reached for comment.
