The Middle East has had quite a time with legal issues surrounding the use of free speech in regards to the web and other publications, along with a handful of other countries around the globe. This is emphasized today with the confirmed detention of outspoken Saudi blogger Fouah al-Farhan by the Saudi Interior Ministry today.

While the reason for Mr. Farhan's arrest on December 10, 2007 has not been revealed, the officials have stated that he is not being jailed, only questioned, according to a report by the New York Times. After writing about political prisoners' plight in Saudi Arabia and accusing the government of lying in regards to its accusation of certain political advocates as terrorists, the Saudi government is apparently seeking a signed apology from Mr. Farhan, which he is not ready to give up just yet. Friends of Mr. Farhan's are still posting on his popular blog, while also promoting his release from custody.

The matter of free speech varies drastically from country to country, and Australia has been inching towards a more regulated web existence with several pushes for controlled implementations of censorship on the Internet. And the topic gets particularly heated when it comes to blogs: they're often powered by larger entities, and easily found across the web thanks to search tools. What we're left with is a very sticky, very global issue of free speech and corporate responsibility, all speaking to the heart of the matter for governmental involvement and allowances. While this isn't particularly the case with Mr. Farhan, how many more entities would need to get involved on the legal end if Mr. Farhan had not disclosed is identity?