TRA Bahrain Responds To Snapchat Concerns Inappropriate Content Blocked

Mobilk - In response to rising complaints from consumers relating to inappropriate content found on Social Media platforms and in line with its mission to promote a safe cyber environment for users in Bahrain, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) Bahrain held several key meetings with social media companies such as Facebook, Twitter, & Snapchat. The aim of these meetings was to promote collaboration on issues of mutual concern and particularly to address the stream of inappropriate content in the Discover or Explore Sections of some of the most popular applications such as Snapchat & Instagram. 

These meetings were highly constructive and served to strengthen the communication channels between the Authority and several social media companies. Additionally, the response of the social media companies was immediate as the inappropriate content was removed within days for all users in accessing these platforms in the Bahrain. 

“It’s vital we build strong ties with Social Media companies. The near ubiquitous use of social media networks in the kingdom has necessitated this step in order to ensure that users can use these platforms comfortably without being exposed to material that is deemed socially and culturally inappropriate” Says Dr. Khalid bin Duaij Al Khalifa, TRA Director of Cyber Security. “It pleases us that tech companies recognize the need to respect local laws and cultural sensitivities, and are willing to cooperate with us to not only to limit access to inappropriate content, but to promote content that is more relevant to their users in the Kingdom and the region.”

TRA, as a member of the GCC Technical committee for Telecommunications Bureau and the legislation and regulation of application services provided through the internet, seeks to build ties with some of the world’s major social media companies including but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, Google and Snapchat. This move comes in the interest of greater cooperation and to facilitate communications coming from the GCC region.