The authorities in Saudi Arabia decided to implement a ban on Facebook over the weekend after the popular social networking site “crossed the line.”
Saudi Arabia follows the teachings of Islam and is heavily influenced by the instruction of religious leaders. According to the authorities, Facebook was hit with a temporary ban as it did not conform with the country’s conservative values.
For several hours on Saturday, any Facebook member attempting to log-in to their account in Saudi Arabia were faced with an error message warning of restricted content.
Facebook is the world’s largest social network boasting 500 million active users worldwide, with 3 million users living in Saudi Arabia. As yet, it is not known which pages caused offence to the Saudi officials and caused the temporary black out of the social network site.
Bosses at Facebook have not commented on the blocking of the site over the weekend as the social network site seeks to stay out of any cultural clashes with authorities.
The ban on Facebook in Saudi Arabia this weekend only lasted a matter of hours. Pakistan and Bangladesh have also imposed bans on Facebook over the last year, with access to the site being restricted for up to a week in some cases.
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