Please Don't Go, Jordan

If you live in Jordan, today a lot of your internet will look like the above; i.e. blacked out and useless. Do you remember when those old, rich people in American Congress tried to ruin your internet with their SOPA and PIPA bills back in January? And do you remember how Wikipedia, Reddit and some of the other big players in the internet game were like, "Errr, no mate, that's not cool. Back the fuck off our web freedom, you dirty copyright lobbyists," and blacked out all their homepages in online protest? Yeah, this is that, but this time in the Middle East. A bit of background info: Jordan is a country that geographically sits among some of internet censorship's biggest fans. States such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Syria (oh GOD, Syria) and UAE are some of the top guys – and I do mean old-school, patriarchal, women-should-stay-in-the-kitchen type guys – when it comes to stopping their public having full, easy flushing access to the internet. Even though Jordan is a country where citizens are arrested for criticising their monarch, King Abdullah II, it has been relatively light on direct state censorship of websites, and has also enjoyed a boom in ICT industries.

Recently, however, there have been surprising moves to regulate and restrict Jordanians' internet. Proposed amendments to Jordan's Press and Publication Law concerned publishers, broadcasters and netizens so much that they went out and protested on the steps of the Jordan Press Agency last Thursday. Changes to the law would mean that any media website would have to register with the Department of Press and Publication for a fee of more than 1,000 Jordanian dinars ($1,400). These websites would then be obligated to appoint a chief editor (a member of the Jordanian Press Council) who would be held accountable for all comments posted on their website.

The ultimate outcome of all the above is the General Manager of the Department of Press and Publication would have the authority to block any website he wanted – including those broadcasting from abroad. Which, I guess, would technically include VICE. (In fact, it could include this very article – hey, censorship-loving Jordanian politicians! You suck.) The amendments were discussed in the Lower House of Jordan's parliament on Sunday the 25th of August, much to the open-jawed incredulity of those fighting hard for freedom of speech across Jordan. Parliament are due to have another little chat about it all again in a session tomorrow (Thursday 30th). A lot of peeps in Jordan ain't too happy about this. A group called 7oryanet, which somehow translates (even though it has a number in it?!) as "you are free, internet" have been encouraging a homepage black out (see how we got back to that?) across Jordan's media and non-media related internet. So far, over 200 or so of Jordan's most prominent websites and blogs (including Oasis500, Maysalward, Syntax, And Far Away and ShopGo) have sabotaged their own homepages in support. So, if you live in Jordan, and your internet's being all shitty and blacked out, just remember, it might just persuade your government to chill the fuck out. On the other hand, it might not; in which case this might be the last thing you ever read on this website again. Just remember that we love you, and we'll miss you guys a lot :(

Follow Josh on Twitter: @joshuahaddow