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Ana Crisostomo student n. 10397124

Measuring censorship of LGBT activism websites in Saudi Arabia

Ana Crisostomo
Student n. 10397124

Digital Methods
Assignment # 1
Supervisor: Erik Borra
09.11.2012
ana.crisostomo@gmail.com






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Ana Crisostomo student n. 10397124
Measuring censorship of LGBT activism websites in Saudi Arabia

Introduction

Saudi Arabia is one of the countries in the Middle East region which has implemented and
carefully maintained a system of online censorship regarding several issues in the political
and social spheres as a means of sustenance of its authoritarian regime. According to
reports provided by the official Internet Service Unit (ISU) in the country, at one given
moment nearly 400,000 websites had been blocked from public access (Rogers 236) and any
user is always welcome to suggest further websites or specific pages to be added to the
blacklist. The blocking system applied is rather transparent in its outcome as the user is
directly informed that the visited website has been intentionally blocked with a page
providing additional information on how to request the block to be lifted if one feels that a
specific website has been erroneously filtered (Faris, Villeneuve 15).
Despite the transparency of the online censoring system and the possibility for citizens to
appeal against blocking decisions, the country is often the target of reports by Western-
based human rights organizations which criticize the repressive political and legal
environment anchored in powerful religious and cultural aspects which disregard freedom
of speech (besides other universal human rights such as freedom from torture, freedom of
thought, conscience and religion and right to a fair trial which fall outside the direct scope of
the current study).
The legal and derivative religious perspective (based on Sharia, the Islamic law formulated
from the Qu'ran and the Sunnah - the traditions - of the Islamic prophet Muhammad
[1]
)
impose a number of rules which segregate women at several levels and are also generally
very strict towards sexuality. Homosexuality, for instance, is a sensitive topic in the country
and the punishment for engaging in, what is considered to be, a sinful and illegal activity can
range from imprisonment to death penalty. Since there is no codification of the law
[2]
, the
punishment decision relies on religious judges, scholars, and royal decrees.

[1]
As briefly defined in Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_system_of_Saudi_Arabia .
[2]
An article from 2011 discusses the, somehow, arbitrary character of the Kingdoms judicial system:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2011/oct/26/saudi-arabia-justice-system-reform .
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The conviction and severity of the punishment applied depends then on the social class,
religion, and citizenship of the accused
[3]
.
The repressed view on homosexuality is also reflected online with the censorship of several
websites dedicated to LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) issues as denounced
by global organizations fighting for freedom of speech worldwide
[4]
. It is within this specific
category that this research on online censorship in Saudi Arabia can be circumscribed.

Question

As stated previously, it is a publicized situation that Saudi Arabia has censored websites
related with LGBT matters and the local authorities do not conceal this fact. In fact, all
citizens are invited to denounce what they consider to be inappropriate sexual conduct. The
countrys most feared law enforcement agency - the Commission for the Promotion of
Virtue and Prevention of Vice encourages the participation of volunteers.
However, just like the punishment for engaging in homosexual activities is not applied
consistently, the same happens regarding the online censorship criteria.
There have been reports of cases where bans to gay websites were lifted in response to an
appeal from the international press freedom organization and justified by the fact that no
pornographic content had been found in those same websites
[5]
.
It becomes then unclear what are the specific norms followed by the authorities to filter
websites with homosexual material are the requirements solely related to the possibility
of finding pornographic content? What are the limits for filtering pages related to
homosexuality and bisexuality?
To try to isolate this aspect, the current research will focus on a set of websites related to
LGBT activism in order to explore mainly the political facet of homosexual, bisexual and


[3]
A 2012 article reported a man arrested in the country for dating other men on Facebook providing an
account of the differences in punishment: http://www.gaymiddleeast.com/news/news%20345.htm .
[4]
Homosexuality is one of the topics targeted by Saudi Arabias censorship according to the 2007 country
profile in Reporters Without Borders: http://en.rsf.org/list-of-the-13-internet-enemies-07-11-2006,19603 .
[5]
According to an article from 2004 by Reporters Without Borders: http://en.rsf.org/saudi-arabia-ban-lifted-
on-two-gay-websites-30-03-2004,09586.html .
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transgender issues instead of tackling the sexuality matter as a whole since the objective is
to understand if LGBT content would be in fact filtered when not associated with
pornographic material.
The question in this particular case would then be: does Saudi Arabia censor websites
dedicated to LGBT activism? If so, is this ban uniform or can differences be noticed? If the
latter, is any type of pattern evident?
The goal of such investigation will not shed light on the reason why some websites might, or
not, be censored but the empirical output will, hopefully, make the current situation gain
more visible contours.

Method

The first step in the empirical investigation concerned the set of LGBT activism websites
checked against possible blocking. For building this URL list, a combination of three distinct
approaches was followed.
During the first approach of the investigation, the technique applied can be described as an
editorial one (Rogers 235) by making use of Directories available in Yahoo.com and
Dmoz.org. However, Yahoos Directory revealed itself to be a poor and outdated source of
information in this particular area: out of the seven websites retrieved
[6]
, only two were still
online. Dmoz was a more resourceful platform in this case since it retrieved 13 results on a
first instance
[7]
and suggested other relevant categories where almost all websites were still
online. Adding the results from both queries provided a list of 67 working URLs
[8]
(see
Appendix for the list of websites).


[6]
The categories chosen in Yahoo were the following: Directory > Society and Culture > Cultures and Groups >
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered > Politics and Civil Rights
(http://dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Cultures_and_Groups/Lesbian__Gay__Bisexual__and_T
ransgendered/Politics_and_Civil_Rights/).
[7]
The categories chosen in Dmoz were the following: Directory > Society > Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual >
Activism (http://www.dmoz.org/Society/Gay%2C_Lesbian%2C_and_Bisexual/Activism/).
[8]
The additional researched categories within the specific LGBT Dmoz area
(http://www.dmoz.org/Society/Gay%2C_Lesbian%2C_and_Bisexual/) were the following: Activism/Activists,
Organizations, Law, Politics, Activism/Stonewall_Riots, Activism/White_Night_Riots, Activism/Weblogs.

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In an attempt to complement this initial list, Alexa.com was consulted for the top websites
in this individual category
[9]
. A list of 24 working websites was retrieved but most of them
had already been referred in Dmoz so the absolute list grew only by nine websites (the
differences for some websites was merely related to the inclusion or exclusion of www in
the URL but both variants were still included in the investigation). A significant number of
the 76 websites indicated a global character but many of them were U.S.A. centric or
focused on a Western audience (English was the language used in all of them, at least, in the
landing page). This is an important element to take into consideration when analyzing and
interpreting the results as these are not websites catering specifically for the country or the
region.
On the second approach of the investigation, the range was limited to LGBT websites
targeting more directly a Saudi Arabian audience or an Arabic public in general. The starting
point was one website found through Dmoz entitled GLAS - Gay and Lesbian Arabic Society
available both in English (http://www.glas.org) and in Arabic (http://www.glas.org/ahbab/),
and another one providing English news mostly denouncing attacks to homosexual
individuals or communities in the Middle East region named Gay Middle East
(http://www.gaymiddleeast.com/).
It is important to highlight that both websites have been reportedly blocked in the past
[10]
.
To be able to expand the list of websites dedicated to some type of LGBT activism in the
Middle East region, the Link Ripper tool
[11]
was used in a curated dynamic URL sampling
attempt to explore the connections of those websites. From this exercise, three additional
websites / social media pages with possible local relevance were found (most of the
hyperlinks were either internal or, when external, linked to global websites or generalist
local websites which would undermine the intention of this second approach): an e-
magazine dedicated to the LGBT community in the Maghreb and MENA region in English
and French (http://gaydaymagazine.wordpress.com/), one Twitter account belonging to one


[9]
The Alexa category where the websites list was fetched from was the following:
http://www.alexa.com/topsites/category/Top/Society/Gay,_Lesbian,_and_Bisexual/Activism .
[10]
For further information on previous LGBT content censored in Saudi Arabia, consult the OpenNet Initiative
bulletin from March 2004: http://opennet.net/bulletins/002/ .
[11]
https://tools.digitalmethods.net/beta/linkRipper/
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of the websites referred previously (http://twitter.com/GayMiddleEast), as well as one
Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gay-Middle-East/133301836703856 ).
Finally, on the third approach of the research, a number of articles and landing pages
exploring issues related to LGBT rights and activism were collected from Wikipedia originally
in English each one being available in a different number of languages
[12]
in order to
counterbalance, as much as possible, the eventual language bias of the study and to
introduce an element of crowdsourcing to the content researched. The URL for every single
selected page in every language was then captured and compiled in a list which ultimately
contained 129 pages in 38 languages (the list can be found in the Appendix).
After the URL compilation, the second step of the research was the submission of the URL
list to the Censorship Explorer tool
[13]
as used in the recent investigation National Web
Studies: Mapping Iran Online (Rogers et al 13). The application retrieves website response
codes using a list of country proxies in order to simulate the browser behavior at the local
users end. During this research
[14]
, between eight and ten proxy servers were available for
Saudi Arabia in the tool representing a maximum of six different ISPs. Even though a greater
diversity could be potentially beneficial for the study
[15]
, the time constraints imposed to
the current research did not allow for such.

Findings

The methodology aforementioned aimed at obtaining representative results for a wide
diversity of websites and particular webpages around the LGBT activism topic: the URLs
used in the investigation were extracted from news websites, global and local NGOs,
Wikipedia pages
[16]
, blogs and social media platforms.

[12]
Only one of the Wikipedia pages selected was in Arabic even though there were also articles in other
languages from the Middle East Region.
[13]
https://tools.digitalmethods.net/beta/proxies/
[14]
This research was executed between 06/11/2012 and 08/11/2012 more details can be found in the
Appendix.
[15]
An official font reveals that approximately 50 ISPs operate in the country:
http://www.internet.gov.sa/learn-the-web/guides/list-of-service-providers/view?set_language=en .
[16]
According to Alexas country ranking, Wikipedia is the 10
th
most visited website in Saudi Arabia:
http://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/SA .
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The language representation was also a similar concern so, within the pages tested, 38
languages could be found, including Arabic and other languages spoken in the Middle East
region.
The tests were performed during three consecutive days and some of them were repeated
in order to increase the level of confidence in the output (see Appendix for date details).
After all the data was analyzed, there was no evidence of blocked pages related to LGBT
activism during this period of time (the few results which were not completely clear can,
most likely, be imputed to temporary technical issues). It should be clarified that such
findings do not exempt the possibility of censorship at a national level temporary or not
for this specific thematic area. The results are only valid for the tested set of pages within
the period of time considered.
The conclusions could attain a more solid character if the tests would be systematically
executed during a more extended period of time and if more local and regional websites
would be added to the investigated list. The latter is certainly the most challenging aspect
when one is not familiar with the language and lacks an insight into the significant entities
playing an important role in the local LGBT underground scene which could provide valuable
information regarding online content produced and consumed locally.
The awareness of such shortcomings and respective criticism can potentially become a
worthy asset for future studies focusing on the same particular object.

Discussion

In a comparative empirical country study produced by Robert Faris and Nart Villeneuve in
2006, Saudi Arabia was part of a group of countries which not only intercede on a wide
range of topics but also block a large amount of content relating to those topics (Faris,
Villeneuve 6). When analyzing the diagram included in their article Measuring Global
Internet Filtering (8) it is possible to state that, from all the countries studied, Saudi Arabia
was the one which censored the most extensive number of topics even if in a more
superficial manner than other countries such as Iran, China and South Korea.
Although the politically oriented filtering occupied an important role in the overall
censorship scheme, most of the blocking was actually targeting social topics as evidenced by
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another diagram resulting from Faris and Villeneuves study (10): Saudi Arabia and Iran
were, by far, the leaders in the social censorship ranking.
The present study should be contextualized within this social censorship axis exploring the
breadth and the depth of LGBT content blocking specially when solely concerning political,
social and legal matters and not involving references to pornography.
Despite the fact that this particular investigation did not provide evidence of blocking
backing up this type of censorship, Saudi Arabia is still publicly portrayed as a repressive
country regarding homosexuality and its restraining measures, some of them dating from
this year, are felt both offline
[17]
and online
[18]
.
In a recent report published by FreedomHouse.org
[19]
, Saudi Arabia occupied the ninth
position in the censorship ranking of countries worldwide in 2012 and it took the third place
in the Middle East region (Iran and Syria could be found in the first and second positions
respectively). In the same 2011-2012 report, Saudi Arabia was included in the group of
countries which passed a new law that negatively impacted internet freedom, where pro
government commentators were used to manipulate internet discussions, and where a
blogger or ICT user was physically attacked or killed. In fact, according to the FOTN
(Freedom On The Net) score used, there is more online censorship in the country in 2012
than in 2011.
Some authors anticipate a grim future with the progressive militarization of cyberspace,
and the legitimization of surveillance (Deibert, Rohozinski 32) and, if such trend is indeed
accurate, this indicates how valuable and relevant the research on online censorship is in
raising public awareness but also going beyond that function. As Villeneuve states: Faced
with accurate, empirical evidence, it becomes increasingly difficult for states to continue
denying the fact that they are censoring the Internet (Villeneuve 80). Academic research in
this field can then take on the role of enlightened vigilant towards online censorship
globally.

[17]
Still this year, The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice ordered schools and
universities to ban homosexual students: http://rt.com/news/saudi-arabia-gays-ban-213/ .
[18]
Just a couple of months ago, Saudi Arabia opposed to the creation of a .gay domain name claiming that it
would promote homosexuality http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19259422 .
[19]
The referred 2012 FreedomHouse report can be found online in this PDF file:
http://www.freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/resources/FOTN%202012%20Summary%20of%20Findings.p
df
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Literature

Offline references

Deibert, Ronald. Rohozinski, Rafal. Control and Subversion in Russian Cyberspace, Access
Controlled. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2010. 15-34.

Faris, Robert. Villeneuve, Nart. "Measuring Global Internet Filtering." Access Denied: The
Practice and Policy of Global Internet Filtering. Eds. R. Deibert et al. Cambridge, MA:
MIT Press, 2008. 5-27.

Rogers, Richard. "The Internet Treats Censorship as a Malfunction and Routes around it? A
New Media Approach to the Study of State Internet Censorship." The Spam Book: On
Viruses, Porn, and other Anomalies from the Dark Side of Digital Culture. Eds. J.
Parikka and T. Sampson. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press, 2009. 229-247.

Rogers, Richards at al. National Web Studies: Mapping Iran Online," Iran Media Program,
Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, 2012. 1-25.

Villeneuve, Nart. "Evasion Tactics: Global Online Censorship is Growing, but so are the
Means to Challenge it and Protect Privacy." Index on Censorship. 36(4) (2007): 71-85.

Online references

Alexa. Top sites in Saudi Arabia. Alexa Internet Corp. 7 November 2012.
<http://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/SA>.

BBC. Saudi Arabia opposes .gay internet domain name. BBC. 2012. British Broadcasting
Company. 7 November 2012. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19259422>.

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Ana Crisostomo student n. 10397124
Communications and Information technology Commission (CITC). Saudi Arabian
Governmental Institution. 7 November 2012. <http://www.internet.gov.sa/learn-
the-web/guides/list-of-service-providers/view?set_language=en>.

Kelly, Sanja. Cook, Sarah. Truong, Mai. Freedom on the Net 2012 - A Global Assessment of
Internet and Digital Media. Freedom House. 2012. Freedom House. 7 November
2012.
<http://www.freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/resources/FOTN%202012%20Su
mmary%20of%20Findings.pdf>.

Littauer, Dan. Hamwi, Sami. Man arrested in Saudi for dating men on Facebook. Gay
Middle East. 2012. 7 November 2012.
<http://www.gaymiddleeast.com/news/news%20345.htm>.

OpenNet Initiative. Bulletin 002. OpenNet Initiative. 2004. Citizen Lab at the Munk School
of Global Affairs, University of Toronto; the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at
Harvard University; and the SecDev Group (Ottawa). 6 November 2012.
<http://opennet.net/bulletins/002/>.

Reporters Without Borders. Ban lifted on two gay websites. Reporters Without Borders.
2004. 6 November 2012. <http://en.rsf.org/saudi-arabia-ban-lifted-on-two-gay-
websites-30-03-2004,09586.html>.

Reporters Without Borders. List of the 13 Internet enemies. Reporters Without Borders.
2006. 6 November 2012. <http://en.rsf.org/list-of-the-13-internet-enemies-07-11-
2006,19603>.

RT. No gays allowed: Saudi Arabia bans homosexuals from schools. RT. 2012. Autonomous
Non-Profit Organisation (ANO) TV-Novosti. 7 November 2012.
<http://rt.com/news/saudi-arabia-gays-ban-213/>.


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Wikipedia. Legal system of Saudi Arabia. 2012. Wikimedia. 7 November 2012.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_system_of_Saudi_Arabia>.

Wilcke, Christoph. Saudi Arabia needs a more transparent justice system. The Guardian.
2011. Guardian News & Media Limited. 7 November 2012.
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2011/oct/26/saudi-
arabia-justice-system-reform>.


























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Appendix

Approach 1 - List of 76 LGBT activist websites tested using Saudi Arabian proxies in
06/11/2012 (this worksheet contains 3 sheets)
Approach 1 - List of 76 LGBT activist websites tested using Saudi Arabian proxies in
07/11/2012 (this worksheet contains 3 sheets)

Approach 2 List of 5 local LGBT websites tested using Saudi Arabian proxies in 07/11/2012
(this worksheet contains 3 sheets)
Approach 2 List of 5 local LGBT websites tested using Saudi Arabian proxies in 08/11/2012
(this worksheet contains 3 sheets)

Approach 3 List of 10 LGBT Wikipedia pages tested using Saudi Arabian proxies in
07/11/2012 (this worksheet contains 3 sheets)
Approach 3 List of 10 LGBT Wikipedia pages tested using Saudi Arabian proxies in
08/11/2012 (this worksheet contains 3 sheets)