The online world has take Lebanon by storm. On the one hand, Lebanese authorities are seeking to tighten their control over online media. On the other, political leaders are starting to build their online profiles - reaching out to fans on Twitter and launching political campaigns on Facebook. The result, this week, was a large stir over media freedom and a media war between political rivals.

This week, the National Audiovisual Media Council (NAMC), a non-governmental institution which regulates TV and radio, asked all websites and blogs to register with the State, a move that was considered illegal by media lawyers. After registering, the NAMC advised that those websites devise a code of ethics that would help draft a new law regulating online media.

The move has caused a stir in the Lebanese blogosphere and among its free speech activists, with the majority considering this move a form of censorship, a "walk into prison" as one renowned blogger described it. The new request would implement regulation without any kind of protection for people who express their opinions online.

In January 2010, four people were arrested for allegedly defaming Lebanese President Michel Suleiman over Facebook, marking the first time legal action was taken over opinions expressed online. The arrests were criticized by human rights groups and free speech activists.

Despite the slow internet connection, Lebanese politicians are starting to discover social media. Former PM Saad Hariri joined the Twitter community last week, engaging in two-hour live sessions with some 18,500 followers. In his first days, he made controversial remarks, engaging in a PR war with House Speaker Nabih Berri after he vowed not to support Berri as Parliament speaker. "No voting for Berri anymore if we win the election. That is a promise," he tweeted.

Offended by the tweet, Berri fired back at Hariri, criticizing him for being away from the country for a long time and for connecting with his constituency through Twitter. Hariri, currently in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and has been out of the country since April due to personal safety concerns. Berri added in a press statement: "Hariri has revealed in his electronic messages a number of his personal hobbies these days, one of which is diving. The Lebanese have also discovered a new hobby of the 'sheikh' and that is politics. Better he dive in the former than the latter."

The online world does allow some kind of transparency - bringing politicians closer to their supporters by revealing more information about them, their thoughts, opinions, lifestyles - and even spelling errors, and introducing a tool of accountability as politicians try to answer their supporters' questions and maintain popularity.

Hariri has taken the liberty to tweet about various political, social and personal issues. On Tuesday, he called for a change of the regime in Syria and condemned the "massacres" taking place in Syria. Furthermore, he announced that March 14's next step is to coalesce and plan forward for the 2013 elections. On the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), he said he has no faith that PM Mikati would be able to secure the cabinet's support for STL funding.

Even international diplomats in Lebanon often maintain active online profiles. UK Ambassador to Lebanon Tom Fletcher, who replaced Frances Guy, herself a prolific blogger, said that Lebanon's online community was "thriving" but needs to "drive positive change", and of course, "high speed internet."

Perhaps the politicians' involvement in the online world will finally push forward plans to enhance internet service in Lebanon - something the people have been calling for but that has stalled due to political bickering and disagreements over the country's telecom sector.