Under Saudi pressure: X blocked the account of Channel 14 commentator

The account of Channel 14 commentator Dr. Edi Cohen was blocked for users in Saudi Arabia on X following a request by the kingdom's authorities. Cohen claims the reason is his reports on Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia, and he sent an appeal letter to the network's management.

The account of Dr. Edi Cohen, an orientalist and Channel 14 commentator, was blocked for users in Saudi Arabia on X, following an official request by the kingdom's authorities. According to Cohen, the reason for the block is his reports on Houthi missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia, which the authorities claim violate local law. The block came a few months after a similar attempt by Egypt, which requested in May to restrict access to his account, but its request was not implemented. Cohen sent an appeal letter to X's legal department, in which he attacked the block as an arbitrary step and warned against turning the network into a tool for governments to censor. He demanded the removal of the block, an explanation for the difference in treatment between the requests, and a commitment not to systematically restrict journalistic activity. Cohen noted that he has about a million followers in the Arab world, and that his account is one of the most popular in the region.