PDF Version Note: a newer version of this profile is available at Country Profiles: Tunisia. Overview Although Tunisia has actively sought to develop its information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure, the government blocks a range of Web content and has used nontechnical...

PDF Version Note: a newer version of this profile is available at Country Profiles: Syria. Overview In addition to filtering a range of Web content, the Syrian government monitors Internet use closely and has detained citizens “for expressing their opinions or reporting...

PDF Version Note: a newer version of this profile is available at Country Profiles: Sudan. Overview Sudan openly acknowledges filtering content that transgresses public morality and ethics or threatens order. The state's regulatory authority has established a special unit to monitor and...

PDF Version Note: a newer version of this profile is available at Country Profiles: Saudi Arabia. Overview Saudi Arabia has filtered the Internet since its introduction into the kingdom less than a decade ago. The filtering regime most extensively covers religious...

Background Under the leadership of Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, Qatar has become more liberal.1 However, any organized opposition to the emirate is illegal, and political parties are nonexistent.2 There are...

PDF Version Note: a newer version of this profile is available at Country Profiles: Oman. Background Oman is a monarchy, with Sultan Qaboos bin Said exercising absolute power and the bicameral Majlis Oman (Council of Oman) acting in a mostly advisory position....

PDF Version Note: a newer version of this profile is available at Country Profiles: Morocco. Overview Internet access in Morocco is, for the most part, open and unrestricted. ONI testing revealed that Morocco filters only a small number of Web sites, mainly...

Background Lebanon is one of the most complex and divided countries in the Middle East. The country serves as a refuge for the region's persecuted minorities; its population is a mixture of Christian sects, Sunni Muslims, Shia Muslims, Druze and others....

Background Kuwait is a constitutional monarchy with a National Assembly (Parliament) of 50 members elected by popular vote. Despite a ban on political parties, formal political groups exist which support MPs and other political candidates.1 The media in Kuwait...

PDF Version Note: a newer version of this profile is available at Country Profiles: Jordan. Overview Access to Internet content in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan remains largely unfettered, with filtering selectively applied to only a small number of sites. However, media...