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Major online news agencies reports today the ever anticipated banning of Viber by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In a report released by Reuters, the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) in the Kingdom has posted in their website the following statement.
"The Viber application has been suspended ... and the (regulator) affirms it will take appropriate action against any other applications or services if they fail to comply with regulatory requirements and rules in force in the Kingdom."
As an expatriate working in Saudi Arabia, using Viber to connect with my family in the Philippines is very convenient. Since I have reliable Mobily Internet at home in Riyadh, and my family has so far a fair SmartBro connection in the Philippines; web-based communication is very easy.
It was not long time ago that I started to use Viber to have a free call to my family. But now, no more Viber to enjoy. You can start looking for other alternative VoIP app but even Skype is being considered to get banned in Saudi Arabia.
Reasons of Banning Viber and other Instant Messaging and VoIP app in Saudi Arabia
Here are some unconfirmed reasons because there still no definite statement coming from the government agency.
- Viber does not meet any regulations and laws existing in Saudi Arabia.
- Telecom companies such as Mobily, STC and Zain are deprived from income.
Other Countries, Regions and Providers also have also banned Viber as per Viber website
- Argentina
- Myanmar
- Vodafone
- Ireland
- Hungary
- United Kingdom
- Netherlands
- O2 in UK
- T-Mobile in UK
- Lebanon
- UAE
- Belize
sad sad to say, were been using these as our communication, its free, now back to normal as what we used before 
There’s always WeChat or LINE I used to be on Viber, but I changed since I didn’t like the intrusive
This is so frustrating, considering that Viber is quickly becoming a popular way of communication.
aww. so sad for you. why don’t you try other applications.
It’s true that telecoms lose a lot due to Viber. A good chunk of income for overseas calls is lost. But these calls should not be made too expensive. After all, telecoms still get huge profits for mobile internet connections.
So sad for our overseas workers in the middle east, communication via internet (other is good income ) is our lifeblood to keep us going overseas despite away from our beloved family … now if this is suppressed, we’re in icu psychologically, i experienced it when i’m in abu dhabi few years back. We need to find a way other than viber and skype. Try Google+ Hangout. Thanks for the share bro.
When I was in china i also suffer a lot of banned thing, and I know that somehow the reason why they do this is personal interest. There are two application though that you can use, Line and kakaotalk if they are not banned.
That is just so sad and disappointing 
my sister-in-law lives in KSA with her husband and viber has been really useful as a means of communication Still, if there were tighter controls by the telcos here, I bet they would also want to have this app blocked because they lose some money there.
I knew it. The telcos in KSA aren’t getting enough income but i dont think it’s also fair to banned these applications as it is the smartphone user’s right.
I’m not sure why it’s really not allowed. What are those rules and regulations? Hmmm I think that even if Viber is not allowed, there are other similar apps that they can use.
Ohh so sad to hear that. Maybe you can try Tango?
Maybe the Saudi government is just very cautious. Viber can be used by terrorists for communication purposes.