JEDDAH: Technology is being misused to spread pornography, particularly involving children, said Dr. Abdullah Al-Ansari, Director General of Legal Affairs and International Cooperation at the Ministry of Interior and the Kingdom's Representative at the 20th Session of the Committee on Criminal Justice now under way in Austria. In line with Islamic guidelines, he said the Kingdom is determined to wipe out these crimes. It has also formed a body to draw up plans to spread virtue and confront vice. He said the Kingdom had adopted a package of measures to deal with the misuse of technology, including blocking pornographic, drugs and gambling Internet sites. He said strengthening and protection of human rights is a key measure being undertaken in the Kingdom. However, moral decadence is not freedom. He said it would be a “grave mistake” to have freedom without restrictions, especially if this encroaches on children's rights and threatens their psychological and physical safety. He said there are a number of laws in place to ensure the protection of children in the Kingdom. The Kingdom has also signed a number of international treaties and agreements in this regard, including those related to child trafficking, prostitution and exploitation of children in pornographic materials. In this context, the Council of Ministers has approved measures to codify and define the moral content of the Internet. There will also be a body to deal with such crime and a toll free number for public complaints. The Kingdom's delegation led by Al-Ansari include Dr. Daifullah Bin Ahmad Al-Zahrani, Deputy Governor of the IT Commission for Legal Affairs; Dr. Meshal Bin Abdullah Al-Gadhi, Director General of IT Services at the IT Commission; Hamad Bin Sulaiman Al-Nazer, Advisor at the Interior Ministry's Agency for Rights; and Abdullah Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Amairi, a Researcher at the International Cooperation Administration at the Ministry of Interior.
