The middle east has several first and 2nd generation measures to regulate internet access and online activities. This includes laws and regulations, technical filtering, physical restrictions, surveillance and monitoring, and torment and arrests. There are alot of torah and regulations used to ensure access which include laws that go with iron and publications all the way to Internet and ISP rules and regulations.
Ghadafi used various of these methods to try and oppress the anti government protests that broke out in Libya. He threatened to engage people up if they were caught using Facebook to post anti government remarks. He shutdown cellular and internet access through out the country. All of his actions are from laws that are outstanding in other Middle East and North African countries who all share the same position of controlling internet content which is seen as insulting or offensive. Here is one instance of a current law in Kuwait: "Kuwait's 2006 press law allows the captivity of journalists for making references to Islam that are deemed insulting or for articles seen as "against national interests" (Access Controlled, p. 526)."
According to the laws setup in the middle east, Ghadafi has every good in arresting people and closing down the net in place to protect "national interests" in Libya. I hold with having laws and filters in order to influence certain content if it is loss to get a terror or hurt someone else. For example, if there is a site that is promoting a terrorist assault on the Libyan government so I suppose the administration has every good in taking action against the situation and its owners. The job with this is what is considered unlawful in the eyes of the Libyan government? Also, why filter the net to the degree of restricting a person's freedom of words or look in Libya? Does limiting the approach to certain online content, shutting down the internet and arresting people for posting anti government information loss to end the revolt in Libya?
Currently Libya is in a nation of turmoil. Rebel forces in cities across Libya are starting a revolution against Ghadafi and the current Libyan government. Ghadafi has retaliated by using the Libyan military to pay a war against his own people. It may appear unknown to engage a war against one's own cititzens until we feel at the laws, policies and structures in space which allow for these actions. So in the eyes of Ghadafi this could be deemed as a disturbance to the country and he is playing with "national interests" in mind. This does not take anything to do with the rules and regulations of substance being filtered or blocked on the net in Libya. But it does point to how the multitude in Libya are being tempered and why they are being treated this way. Since Libya is a authoritarian government the people's rights and freedom of reflection will be hampered no matter what they do in this country.
These sort of laws can stifle Libya's economy and which we have seen can take to a revolution. If people are stifled online then this can make a government start to get away freedoms in real space as well. In the version I found that countries in the middle east like Libya are blocking sites for political campaigning and social activism. Of form the multitude in these countries are asking that these restrictions be lifted. Of course these countries are not going to raise these restrictions since they recognise that the net is associated with sound and power. Ghadafi understands this and that is why he has not lifted restrictions on the net or changed any of the pentateuch in his country. The worst part about this is that U.S. companies are serving to provide these technological restrictions for these countries so that they can have a profit. It is a pity that content filtering companies do not hold a conscience or a concerns about the issues going on in these countries. I believe if they did it would make a big impact on how these countries would go about filtering their internet content.
A proportion of torah and content filtering must be reached if the middle east along with Libya want to celebrate peace in their countries. If not, then these governments will extend to experience turmoil and uprisings.
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