Laura Bashraheel Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — The microblogging website Twitter has become one of the most important arenas for dialogue and discussion among people from different classes and cultures in the Kingdom. In a society where “freedom of expression” is a relatively new concept, intolerance of opposing views shows its ugly side. The father of Wojdan Shaherkani, one of the two Saudi female Olympians, told a local daily that he wrote to the interior minister with copies of insults made on the Twitter against his daughter. “I have sent an urgent letter to the Minister of Interior Prince Ahmed Bin Abdul Aziz with copies of all attacks made on Twitter,” said Ali Seraj Shaherkani. He also said that a lawyer has been hired to sue those who attacked his daughter. The Ministry of Interior website allows people to report insults under the cybercrime law by providing information about the offender, dates and link to the insult if available. According to cybercrime law, the offender might face imprisonment for no longer than five years and a fine of not more than SR3 million, if proven guilty and depending on the severity of the offense and crime. Most Saudis are unaware of the cybercrime law and some of them created Twitter hashtags trying to “clean up” the site. One such hashtag, called “Tweeting manners,” was recently created urging users to tweet with decency, not to turn Twitter into a place of insults and obscenities and engage in constructive dialogue. Many other hashtags were created to discuss how people should respect different opinions. But do hashtags change anything? Sarah Mohammed, a 31-year-old marketer, said that Twitter is the only outlet where people can express themselves, yet some people don't have the mental capacity to accept others' opinions without prejudice. “Not accepting differences resulted in a curse-polluted time line. I've been called bad names and insulted many times. Generally I just ignore them but some cross the line and deserve to be slapped around,” she said. Mohammed believes that since there are no rules or any punishments when it comes to verbal assaults, users lash out with no regard to who and how they offend. “Another issue that showed its ugly face is racism in Saudi society. I have been called names and asked to leave my own country. It's heartbreaking to be considered an outsider when this is where we belong,” she added. Samar Abdul Rahman, a 27-year-old employee, believes that tweets are a reflection of the user. “There are people who were not raised to respect others and different opinions. As a result, Twitter has become full of disrespectful users,” she said. Abdul Rahman said that she receives many insults, which she usually ignores. “I block such people immediately but some need to be punished by law so others would learn,” she added. Commenting on Twitter hashtags, Abdul Rahman said that they are a waste of time and not an effective tool to change society's mindset. Waleed Samoum, a 29-year-old a social media specialist who blogs weekly about latest Twitter news, said that Twitter did not only create a public sphere for Saudis, it has also raised the level of topics discussed. Twitter users come from many different backgrounds and mentalities meeting in a virtual world for the first time, which gave a cultural shock to some of them. Samoum pointed out that though cybercrime law does exist, there are some people who use it to their benefit. “What is actually happening is not the absence of law, but the lack of awareness, which may contribute to the spread of such behavior. The one who is insulted might not be familiar with the law and avoid complicated procedures to file complaints,” he explained. Samoum believes that authorities should start awareness campaigns about cybercrime law and procedures associated with it to educate users of social networking sites in general. Also, fake accounts contributed to the spread of negative behavior on Twitter. “Some people operate two accounts, one with their real identities and another a fake account, which could be used to insult other users. In both cases, whether the name is real or fake, the authorities can trace people behind the account,” he said. To Samoum, awareness hashtags are repetitive and not very popular among users. “However, famous Twitter users could have an influence and direct some awareness messages, which might be effective,” he said.
