Bloggers claim victory in Jordan Skype decision

I had posted previously on Jordan resolving "security issues" with Skype, thus allowing use of the VoIP service to resume after a month-long ban.

Apparently some confusion arose after an article was published in Jordan's The Star newspaper, causing bloggers and their readers to believe that Skype had been banned again.

However, the columnist who wrote The Star article, Zeid Nasser, confirmed that the Skype service had indeed been restored. The Jordanian blogger claims the decision had less to do with security than it did with public pressure:

Well, it seems the pressure from bloggers, journalists and various IT-activists has caused the Telecommunications Regulation Committee (TRC) to unblock Sykpe!

This has got to be one of the few cases of a governmental organization in Jordan reversing its decision due to civil pressures.

Comments on Zeid's blog showed skepticism towards both his version of events as well as the official explanation.

But hey, blogging didn't hurt did it? Maybe it could help UAE get its VoIP back too?