The United States criticised Saudi Arabia on Friday for internet restrictions that blocked access to religious websites considered incompatible with Islamic law. Saudi Arabia was one of numerous countries faulted in the State Department''s annual report on human rights that emphasised the growing role of communications technology as a tool for promoting human rights.
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said as many as 40 governments around the world block citizens from freely browsing the internet. Bloggers have been subject to arrest and in some cases torture has been used to force individuals to provide passwords and other information about their internet activities, she said.
The report accused Saudi Arabia''s official Communications and Information Technology Commission of improperly monitoring email and internet chatrooms and of blocking internet sites devoted to information about Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity and forms of Islam that do not comply with Sharia law.
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