Lebanon: Government Poised to Ban Skype Tomorrow

Qifa Nabki reports that the Lebanese government is calling a special session tomorrow to vote on a new E-Transactions law that will potentially ban Skype, among other actions. The move comes in light of a recent crackdown by the Telecommunications Ministry on the usage of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) programs, which enable cheap-to-free video conferencing by allowing users to speak from phone to phone via the internet. VoIP programs are forbidden in Lebanon under a national telecoms law that critics view as intended to unfairly protect the profits of cell phone companies and the landline network. Nabki along with other critics implicates the public sector as well, claiming that “the telecommunications industry has long been used shamelessly as a coffer-stuffer for the Lebanese government.”

The development has infuriated Lebanese bloggers, professionals, and internet rights activists. Iman Atalla writes in The Daily Star: “The degree of trampling over civil liberties has increased by yet another megabit, and you, the private citizen, are swallowing each and every bit, one slow bit at a time,” while Cathie Glover at Developing Lebanon comments, “This law runs contrary to every principle of democracy and free market economy to which Lebanon claims to adhere. Passing this law would be a major step backwards in the country’s democratic development.” Online campaigns urging citizens to protest the proposed law have been launched on various social networking sites.