Social networking site briefly blocked because it doesn't conform to kingdom's values. Saudi Arabia's communications authority unblocked Facebook on Saturday after shutting down the popular social networking website for a few hours.
An official with Saudi's Communications and Information Technology Commission said the kingdom blocked the site briefly Saturday because the content had "crossed a line" with the country's conservative values.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media, later said the communications authority lifted the ban. The reason the commission reversed its decision hours later was not immediately clear.
Earlier this week, a blogger who set off an uproar in the Arab world by claiming he was God and hurling insults at the Prophet Muhammad was arrested through a sting that used Facebook to track him down.
Walid Husayin, 26, a barber from the West Bank town of Qalqilya, now faces a potential life prison sentence on heresy charges for "insulting the divine essence." Many in this conservative Muslim town say he should be killed for renouncing Islam, and even family members say he should remain behind bars for life.
Associated Press
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