of Internet telephony at Internet cafés and
warned Internet café operators against providing
basic voice service. The TRA also warned that
violators face punishments that include imprisonment and fines. 26
Although all blog sites tested were found to
be accessible, some adult humor sites, such as
www.collegehumor.com, were blocked. The Web
site of the Arab-American newspaper Arab Times
(www.arabtimes.com) was blocked, as were its
Google cache copies. Unlike many states in the
region, Oman does not appear to block Web
sites that criticize Islam or that attempt to convert
Muslims to other religions.
Omantel uses the American-made commercial filtering software SmartFilter. Omantel’s
blockpage states that the blocking of banned
sites is not a unilateral decision taken by the ISP,
but rather that “an overwhelming number of
requests from the subscribers made [Omantel]
rethink [its] strategy and conform to the popular
demand to block pornographic and certain hacking sites that encourage hacking.” 27 The blockpage also suggests that users submit an e-mail
link to a site if they feel it has been blocked unfairly and that such a page should be re-categorized
and unblocked.
Conclusion
Filtering of pornography, gay and lesbian content, and circumvention tools is pervasive in
Oman. In addition to blocking Web sites, the
authorities impose legal and physical controls to
ensure that the Internet community does not
access or publish objectionable or unlawful
material. These laws and regulations give rise to
self-censorship among writers and publishers,
both off- and online.
NOTES
1. U.S. Department of State, Background Note: Oman,
October 2006, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/
35834.htm.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. The Political Risk Services Group, “Oman:
Infrastructure,” July 1, 2006 (accessed on
LexisNexis).
5. Omantel News Room, “Net subscribers
cross 92,000-mark,” December 11, 2006
http://www.omantel.net.om/media_room/
show_news.asp?news_id=322.
6. Ibid.
7. Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Oman,
Policy of Liberalization of the Telecommunication
Sector, http://www.tra.gov.om/test1/lib.htm.
8. Omantel, “Internet Log’N’Surf,” http://www.omantel.
net.om/services/residential/internet/log_n_surf.asp.
9. The Times of Oman, “Omantel introduces WLL
in 11 new rural villages,” November 18, 2002,
www.timesofoman.com/newsdetails.asp?newsid=
36021&pn=local.
10. The Times of Oman, “Omantel to launch Easy
Learning Service tomorrow,” January 8, 2007,
http://www.timesofoman.com/echoice.asp?detail=
2005.
11. The Times of Oman, Times News Service, “Free surfing hours for new Omantel subscribers,” February 4,
2007, http://www.timesofoman.com/inner_cat.
asp?cat=1&detail=2887.
12. AMEInfo, “Oman’s success in introducing cellular
competition sets the stage for further market liberalization,” November 28, 2005, http://www.ameinfo.
com/72790.html.
13. The White Book: The Basic Law of the Sultanate of
Oman, Article 29, http://www.omanet.om/english/
government/basiclaw/overview.asp?cat=gov&
subcat=blaw.
14. The White Book: The Basic Law of the Sultanate of
Oman, Article 31, http://www.omanet.om/english/
government/basiclaw/overview.asp?cat=gov&
subcat=blaw.
15. U.S. Department of State, Country Report on Human
Rights Practices: Oman, March 8, 2006,
http://www.state.gov/p/nea/ci/79327.htm.
16. Amnesty International, “Oman: Taiba al Mawali,”
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE
200012006?open&of=ENG-OMN.
17. U.S. Department of State, Country Report on Human
Rights Practices: Oman, March 8, 2006,
http://www.state.gov/p/nea/ci/79327.htm.
18. The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information,
Internet and Freedom of Expression in the Sultanate
of Oman, February 1, 2007, http://www.hrinfo.net/
mena/achr/2007/pr0120.shtml (in Arabic).
19. Ibid.
20. Omantel, “Omantel Terms & conditions,”
http://www.omantel.net.om/policy/terms.asp.
Country Summaries
353
warned Internet café operators against providing
basic voice service. The TRA also warned that
violators face punishments that include imprisonment and fines. 26
Although all blog sites tested were found to
be accessible, some adult humor sites, such as
www.collegehumor.com, were blocked. The Web
site of the Arab-American newspaper Arab Times
(www.arabtimes.com) was blocked, as were its
Google cache copies. Unlike many states in the
region, Oman does not appear to block Web
sites that criticize Islam or that attempt to convert
Muslims to other religions.
Omantel uses the American-made commercial filtering software SmartFilter. Omantel’s
blockpage states that the blocking of banned
sites is not a unilateral decision taken by the ISP,
but rather that “an overwhelming number of
requests from the subscribers made [Omantel]
rethink [its] strategy and conform to the popular
demand to block pornographic and certain hacking sites that encourage hacking.” 27 The blockpage also suggests that users submit an e-mail
link to a site if they feel it has been blocked unfairly and that such a page should be re-categorized
and unblocked.
Conclusion
Filtering of pornography, gay and lesbian content, and circumvention tools is pervasive in
Oman. In addition to blocking Web sites, the
authorities impose legal and physical controls to
ensure that the Internet community does not
access or publish objectionable or unlawful
material. These laws and regulations give rise to
self-censorship among writers and publishers,
both off- and online.
NOTES
1. U.S. Department of State, Background Note: Oman,
October 2006, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/
35834.htm.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. The Political Risk Services Group, “Oman:
Infrastructure,” July 1, 2006 (accessed on
LexisNexis).
5. Omantel News Room, “Net subscribers
cross 92,000-mark,” December 11, 2006
http://www.omantel.net.om/media_room/
show_news.asp?news_id=322.
6. Ibid.
7. Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Oman,
Policy of Liberalization of the Telecommunication
Sector, http://www.tra.gov.om/test1/lib.htm.
8. Omantel, “Internet Log’N’Surf,” http://www.omantel.
net.om/services/residential/internet/log_n_surf.asp.
9. The Times of Oman, “Omantel introduces WLL
in 11 new rural villages,” November 18, 2002,
www.timesofoman.com/newsdetails.asp?newsid=
36021&pn=local.
10. The Times of Oman, “Omantel to launch Easy
Learning Service tomorrow,” January 8, 2007,
http://www.timesofoman.com/echoice.asp?detail=
2005.
11. The Times of Oman, Times News Service, “Free surfing hours for new Omantel subscribers,” February 4,
2007, http://www.timesofoman.com/inner_cat.
asp?cat=1&detail=2887.
12. AMEInfo, “Oman’s success in introducing cellular
competition sets the stage for further market liberalization,” November 28, 2005, http://www.ameinfo.
com/72790.html.
13. The White Book: The Basic Law of the Sultanate of
Oman, Article 29, http://www.omanet.om/english/
government/basiclaw/overview.asp?cat=gov&
subcat=blaw.
14. The White Book: The Basic Law of the Sultanate of
Oman, Article 31, http://www.omanet.om/english/
government/basiclaw/overview.asp?cat=gov&
subcat=blaw.
15. U.S. Department of State, Country Report on Human
Rights Practices: Oman, March 8, 2006,
http://www.state.gov/p/nea/ci/79327.htm.
16. Amnesty International, “Oman: Taiba al Mawali,”
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE
200012006?open&of=ENG-OMN.
17. U.S. Department of State, Country Report on Human
Rights Practices: Oman, March 8, 2006,
http://www.state.gov/p/nea/ci/79327.htm.
18. The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information,
Internet and Freedom of Expression in the Sultanate
of Oman, February 1, 2007, http://www.hrinfo.net/
mena/achr/2007/pr0120.shtml (in Arabic).
19. Ibid.
20. Omantel, “Omantel Terms & conditions,”
http://www.omantel.net.om/policy/terms.asp.
Country Summaries
353