Twitter beyond ministry control, says Khoja

Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH – Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Abdulaziz Khoja has admitted difficulties in monitoring Twitter, which is considered the most widely used social networking site currently. About three million people in the Kingdom have Twitter accounts, Al-Watan newspaper reported Thursday.

Khoja said his ministry cannot censor what is posted on individual Twitter accounts because it is difficult to monitor the huge volume of messages. He said awareness in society must be upgraded to address the problem. He further said, “We, along with a number of government authorities, monitor what is going on in Twitter. However, censorship is difficult due to the big number of users.”

The minister added that it necessary for the user of the social networking site to raise his awareness and help the Ministry of Culture and Information in the censorship process. He rejected comparing this website with electronic newspapers, as the latter are organized according to a recently issued regulations.

Khoja stuck to his earlier stance that there ought to be self-censorship of materials on Twitter through "the individual’s education and society’s culture". He confirmed that individuals will learn with time how to express their opinions and deal with events in a more convincing way.