Snapchat should block Al Jazeera, demand Saudi Authorities

Saudi Arabia and 3 other countries broke ties with Qatar as they believe they are funding terrorism

The Snapchat messaging application is seen on a phone screen
The Snapchat messaging application is seen on a phone screen Reuters

Snapchat Inc has been asked by the Saudi Arabia government to remove the Al Jazeera Discover Publisher Channel in that country because it violated local laws.

Al Jazeera is a state-funded broadcaster in Doha, Qatar, owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network.

Qatar has been caught in an ongoing conflict with four other nations, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and UAE.

The countries had cut off ties earlier this year accusing the country of supporting terrorism.

This dispute is the perfect example of a technology company getting stuck in the middle of geopolitics, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

Although this is not the first hit out towards the Al Jazeera network.Saudi authorities had previously demanded the Qatar government shut down the network completely as one of the 13 conditions to remove sanctions against the country but were later withdrawn.

Saudi Arabia, according to human rights groups and media freedom advocates, has one of the world's most stringent media laws but are one of the largest social media markets in the Middle East due to a high rate of smartphone ownership.

This being the reason that the US owned companies like Snapchat Inc comply, as local laws are far more restrictive here.

The Arab states accused Qatar of funding terror groups including ISIS and Al-Qaeda. Qatar has repeatedly and strongly denied the fact that it funds these extremist groups.

The GEFIRA foundation said the rivalry, if left unresolved, could result in a "mother of all wars" exploding within the Middle East.

Using World War One and Two as examples, the research group claimed large-scale conflicts are usually triggered by a "single event".

This single event is not explicitly mentioned, but tensions are rising high.

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