Saudi bloggers off the hook
Saudi officials have denied that bloggers and web forums will be forced to register under a new electronic media law, after remarks by ministry of information domestic media supervisor Abdulrahman al-Hazzaa sparked anger among Saudi internet users, prompting hundreds of Twitter and Facebook users to complain about government media controls.
Hazzaa claimed remarks he made on Al-Arabiya television about registering blogs were misunderstood, and that this would only be voluntary. He also confirmed that the new law would require online news sites to be registered.