“The internet here is characterized by its special system for controlling pornographic and other websites that contradicts the traditions and habits of the people. This is considered an excellent initiative by internet service officials as it makes us feel safe,"
Faisal Hussein, a Qatari citizen
Telling Al-Sharq newspaper about his satisfaction with internet service
General Overview
The "Al-Thani" is the ruling family of the small Gulf Principality of Qatar and has been since the mid-nineteenth century. Qatar was able to transform itself from a poor British protectorate to a wealthy independent state because of its enormous natural resources, oil and natural gas (1). However, the huge economy faced many problems in the 1980s and 1990s until the current Emir HH Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani removed his father in a bloodless coup in 1995 (2). Hence, the state started a new stage of development.
Oil and natural gas guarantee tremendous income for the state, and achieve high levels of national production. The annual per capita income is 23,862 dollars according to 2004 estimates. This is one of the highest levels in the world. In the latest statistics, the census of population exceeded 813,000 people though at least half of them are residents not nationals (3).
Internet and Telecommunication Sector
Internet services have been available in Qatar since 1997 which now has one of the best telecommunications infrastructures in the world. The private Q-Tel company http://www.qtel.com.qa controls the Qatari telecommunications market (4). It provides both terrestrial and cellular phone services in addition to providing internet service through its affiliate company Internet Qatar http://www.qatar.net.qa (5).
According to the most recently available statistics which come from 2004, Qater has more than 191,000 land lines and more than 490,000 mobile phones (6). In 2003 there were some 70,000 internet users (7) though this number has more than doubled since then and now stands at some 165,000 users, according to the most recent statistics (8).
Q-Tel is a monopoly as it obtained a concession for a period of 15 years ending in 2013, according to a royal decree (9).Although it provides a wide rage of services including ADSL and Wi-fi it also exploits its market position and charges exaggeratedly high fees In response to repeated complaints concerning these high costs the Chairman of Q-Tel claimed that the prices are competitive and even asserted that they are considered the best in the whole region (10). Despite the fact that Q-Tel is nominally a private company, its Chairman is Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Thani who is a member of the royal family. This means that the state is still able to control the internet and that the interest of the Al-Thani are always taken into consideration.
Many people continue to express their annoyance at the monopoly of the telecommunications sector. Some businessmen asserted that it is the proper time to allow the foundation of private internet companies in Qatar which can compete to the interest of the consumer (11).
Many Qatari websites are well known in the regional beyond, especially news and religious preaching websites. The most famous Qatari websites are Al-Jazeera News www.aljazeera.net , the Foreign Information Agency of the State of Qatar www.qatarinfo.net , and Islam Web www.islamweb.net , which receives some 880,000 visitors per month, won a World Summit on the Information Society award for the category of e-education and the best electronic content (12).
Communication and Internet Law
Qatar has recently witnessed a significant political opening. Official censorship of the press was lifted in 1995 after the ruling Emir Hamad bin Khalifa came to power (13) and the Ministry of Information was abolished (14). Another important step taken by Qatar was the referendum on the country's permanent constitution on April 29, 2003 after thirty years of life under the Temporary Status Law (15). The new Constitution came into force in June of the same year (16).
The Permanent Constitution includes a series of articles which guarantee basic freedoms. Article 36 provides that personal freedom is guaranteed and that torture is a crime punishable by law. Article 37 stipulates that human privacy rights are inviolable and may not be interfered with except upon the provisions of the law. Article 47 guarantees freedom of opinion. Article 48 states that the freedom of press, publishing, and printing is guaranteed by law (17). However, some of these safeguards are ignored in practice (18). In line with this general shift towards liberalization in June 27, 2004 , the Emir of Qatar issued a law, the first of its kind in the Gulf States , which allows public meetings and rallies, though these are still subject to certain controls (19).
The general and legal frameworks governing the control over the Internet in Qatar were vague following the dissolution of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications. Some of the former departments were turned into independent bodies (20). During this research project, no official body was found to have been responsible for the oversight and regulation of the telecommunication sector as it seems the state conceded the responsibility to manage every aspect of the market to Q-Tel.
This situation was recently corrected by the state when it announced on May 26, 2005 the foundation of Supreme Council for Information and Communications Technology In a significant step, a Qatari woman was appointed as the secretary-general of ictQatar, Dr. Hessa Sultan Al-Jaber (21).
The most important tasks which will be undertaken by the new ictQatar are drafting laws and legislation for e-crimes and internet crimes, establishing legal framework and appropriate regulations for the communications sector. The secretary-general has stated that ictQatar role with respect to internet censorship is limited to spreading awareness of how to control children's access to the Internet (22).
Until November 2006, the council did not have any activity related to internet freedom. In November however, Dr. Hessa Sultan Al-Jaber announced that procedures will be taken to end the monopoly in the communications market in order to create a competitive environment. A new law will stipulate that and will be delegated the Supreme Council for Communications to grant licenses to internet service provider companies.
In the absence of specific rules governing the internet and online publishing in Qatar or even the rules governing its control mechanisms, the most important legal source is the laws of publishing which regulate the traditional press. Although Qatari newspapers and media are considered more liberal than there counterparts in the Gulf certain subjects remain taboo and illegal to discuss. Thus according to the press law it is prohibited "to criticize the Emir”, or to publish information "detrimental to the supreme national interests" (23). It is clear that such restrictions have been applied to the online arena as well as to more traditional media even though it would appear to contradict Articles of the Permanent Constitution.
Censorship and Blocking
As for the internet, Qatari government has confirmed that it will not block any website and will not censor the available web content, especially after Qatar was announced as "open information zone" (24). However, such official declarations have nothing to do with the reality. There are a lot of cases and reports which confirm that Q-Tel prevents browsing many websites; including pornographic websites and other websites which are not involved in any pornography (25). Some reports also mentioned that the Qatari internet service provider company has developed special software to prevent "inappropriate" content and censor the use of the internet by other suppliers (26). They are public internet cafés.
In fact, Q-Tel Company block websites; this is well known by all internet users in Qatar . Q-Tel does not mention on its official website the procedures or the broad lines of its policy of blocking. It does not even provide visitors with contact information for handling such cases. However, the practice confirms blocking. Some human rights reports mentioned that Q-Tel is spying on the emails which pass through its service providers (27).
In February 27, 2001 , Boing Boing (28) website announced that it was blocked in Qatar . The website is considered an open directory for various topics. It is not that kind of websites which are considered pornographic and blocking worthy. The statement issued by the website affirmed that it was blocked in both Qatar and UAE (29). It was also mentioned that Q-Tel uses blocking software known as "SmartFilter" produced by the American Secure Computing Company. This program is used by many other Arab countries such as UAE (30). The website declared in the same statement that the co-administrators of the website will launch a global campaign to call for the prohibition of blocking websites, and that they will provide technical experience for those who wish to skip blocking in their countries. That is in response to blocking their websites in many countries (31).
Some websites blocking cases can be observed in Qatar , upon the website political content which confronts the ruling family or upon ambiguous reasons. The visitors of the public Al-Quma web forum complained the blocking of the website in Qatar (32). The visitors considered the Qatari government indirectly responsible for such blocking and that the reason is offering some topics related to Sheikha Moza, wife of the Emir of Qatar (33).
Another complaint of blocking a Saudi website within Qatar was monitored (34). The main task of the website is to categorize Saudi websites in a directory. Its administrator complained that his website is blocked in Qatar in spite of containing no block worthy content like pornography and politics (35). A Qatari citizen volunteered by faxing the company to ask them to unblock it. This reveals the randomness of the mechanisms used to block and unblock websites in Qatar (36).
In another step aiming at intimidating users, Q-Tel launched unique procedures of blocking. It cancelled online voice support (37). This step caused outrage and protest among users within Qatar and many considered it an unprecedented arbitrary procedure which is resulted from the monopoly. This led to the announcement of large group of users to form "Q-Tel victims group", particularly because access to the internet is based on a contract between Q-Tel and the user. This contract does not imply that the company has the right to block any website or online service … excluding the websites discussing religion, politics, and sex (38).
Prior to such unique procedure, the company blocked a voice conversation on the famous Paltalk program. This did not result into many protests. Some citizens considered it "a closure of a place of corruption". However, blocking the voice on yahoo messenger and ICQ led to massive protests because most internet users depend on them in contacting their families abroad. This also influenced other programs, particularly transferring files to FTP websites (39).
In response to the strong opposition, Q-Tel issued an official statement denying the blocking of voice service (40). The statement revealed that the company upgraded its programs and devices with the purpose to improve services and that this influenced voice enhancement. However, after this introduction the statement mentioned that the company is responsible for providing data not voice. It also declared that some persons to sell them to persons in an illegal way (41).
Some press releases reported the opinion of citizens in the internet service they had. The unofficial poll showed that 80% said that the service is good and has a special system to protect users against extortion and pornography (42). Other 20% believed that a space of freedom should exist while accessing any website (43). This percentage means the existence of an influential censorship system on what the Qatari citizen may browse online. On the same poll, 70% of responders complained the high cost of internet service (44).
Amazingly, despite dozens of reports and practical tests which proved that Q-Tel Company censors and blocks pornographic websites (see above), Qatar society has a permanent feeling of being targeted by external forces. This idea emerged in press reports commenting on what they called "targeting the Qatari society sexually by external forces using modern telecommunications means". The newspaper wondered whether this community is targeted because it is still maintaining its identity and Islamic faith (45). The report concludes by asking why Q-Tel do not interfere block pornographic websites (46). Such ideas provide a clear illustration to the prevailing ideas in the state (or the region). That some companies impose blocking, while some wonder: Why does the state not impose blocking on already existing blocking?
A Qatari resident mentioned that only pornographic websites are permanently prohibited. He said that he himself did not find any other blocked websites and that he feels no restrictions imposed on internet users in Qatar . Probably, he claimed, the only obstacle is service price which is up to 200 riyals for subscription for ADSL services with a speed of 512 MB (47).
Internet Cafés
Internet café managers have claimed that the majority of visitors browse the internet with the purpose of entertainment, and most of them tend to use the "chat" programs more than anything. An internet café worker described the situation by saying that not less than 80% of visitors enter chat rooms to establish what he called "intimate relationships" and that only 20% use the internet for the exchange of information (48). A Qatari internet café owner said that the age groups which frequent the cafés most often are the youth, over twenty years-old (49).
The General Manager of The Qatari Foundation for the Protection of Women and Children; Farida Al-Ubaydli stated that the latest statistics indicate that 90% of internet visitors are youth and teenagers. 60% of them spend their time chatting online, and 75% of adolescents reviewed the pornographic websites but she claimed mostly by accident (50).
Despite the permanent emphasis that when one tries to access a pornographic website, it receives a dialogue box from Q-Tel reading "the pages you try to access have been closed by Internet Qatar Company" (51). The obsession with pornographic websites remains the key preoccupation in certain circles when discussing the issue of internet cafés. The central issue discussed at the workshop organized by the Qatari Foundation for the Protection of Women and Children was the absence of control over internet cafés (52). The official in charge of systems protection at Q-Tel told the workshop that internet cafés are not subject to protection systems applied to government bodies. However, the company is exercising wide prohibition on pornographic websites. The official revealed the absence of any laws or legislation that regulates the work of internet cafés when he called for the need to identify a regulatory authority to legislate against what he described as ‘abuses committed against young people (53)'.
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1-Sherif Mansour, The Annual Report on Civil Society and Democratic Transformation in Arab World, 2004, Ibn Khaldon Center Publications
2-Fact Book, CIA publications, http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/qa.html (visited on 31 May 2006 )
3-International Telecommunication Union, Arab Regional Office, http://www.ituarabic.org/arab_country_report.asp?arab_country_code=15 (visited on 28 May 2006 )
4-Reporters Without Borders, Internet under Censorship, Qatar , http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=10765 ( 2 June 2006 )
5-Internet Qatar website, http://www.qatar.net.qa/services/services.htm (visited on 1 June 2006 )
6-International Telecommunication Union, Arab Regional Office, http://www.ituarabic.org/arab_country_report.asp?arab_country_code=15 (visited on 28 May 2006 )
7-Reporters Without Borders, Internet under Censorship, Qatar , http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=10765 ( 2 June 2006 )
8-International Telecommunication Union, Arab Regional Office, http://www.ituarabic.org/arab_country_report.asp?arab_country_code=15 (visited on 28 May 2006 )
9-Al-Watan Newspaper, Internet Crimes Legislations and no intent to open new telecommunication markets, http://www.al-watan.com/data/20050527/index.asp?content=statenews (visited on 3 June 2006 )
10-Al-Sharq newspaper, Prime Minister Officially opens Q-Tel Tower , 7 March 2006 , http://www.al-sharq.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=1&item_no=179203&v... (visited on 3 June 2006 )
11-Gaber Al-Harmy, Internet Qatar : Future Expansionary Projects, Bab website, http://www.bab.com/news/full_news.cfm?id=2963 (visited on 3 June 2006 )
12-Al-Sharq newspaper, Qatari websites are still taking the lead in 2005, 31 December 2005 , http://www.al-sharq.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=1&item_no=171722&v... (visited on 3 June 2006 )
13-United Nations Development Program, POGAR, http://www.undp-pogar.org/arabic/countries/index.asp?cid=14 (visited on 28 May 2006 )
14-Committee to Protect Journalists, Qatar Report 2002, http://www.cpj.org/attacks02/arabic/qatar_arab.html (visited on 4 June 2006 )
15-Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar , http://www.mofa.gov.qa/details.cfm?id=206 (visited on 1 June 2006 )
16-Amnesty International, Annual Report 2006, Qatar , http://ara.amnesty.org/report2006/qat-summary-ara (visited on 3 June 2006 )
17-Qatar News Agency, The Constitution, http://www.qnaol.com/dostor.htm (visited on 1 June 2006 )
18-Amnesty International, Annual Report 2006, Qatar , http://ara.amnesty.org/report2006/qat-summary-ara (visited on 3 June 2006 )
19-Demonstrations are allowed in Qatar , The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, http://www.hrinfo.net/mena/mengos/pr040627.shtml (visited on 30 September 2006 )
20-Governance Management in Arab Countries Program, Qatar Founded a Supreme Council for Telecommunication and Information Technology, http://www.pogar.org/arabic/govnews/2005/issue3/qatar.html#m6 (visited on 3 June 2006 )
21-Governance Management in Arab Countries Program, Qatar Founded a Supreme Council for Telecommunication and Information Technology, http://www.pogar.org/arabic/govnews/2005/issue3/qatar.html#m6 (visited on 3 June 2006
22-Al-Watan Newspaper, Internet Crimes Legislations and no intent to open new telecommunication markets, http://www.al-watan.com/data/20050527/index.asp?content=statenews (visited on 3 June 2006 )
23-Committee to Protect Journalists, Qatar Report 2002, http://www.cpj.org/attacks02/arabic/qatar_arab.html (visited on 4 June 2006 )
24-Privacy International, Silencing Qatar, 21 September 2003 , http://www.privacyinternational.org/article.shtml?cmd[347]=x-347-103775 (visited on 1 June 2006 )
25-Privacy International, Silencing Qatar, 21 September 2003 , http://www.privacyinternational.org/article.shtml?cmd[347]=x-347-103775 (visited on 1 June 2006 )
26-Privacy International, Silencing Qatar, 21 September 2003 , http://www.privacyinternational.org/article.shtml?cmd[347]=x-347-103775 (visited on 1 June 2006 )
27-Reporters without Borders, The Annual Report 2004, Qatar , http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=9936 (visited on 31 May 2006 )
28-www.boingboing.net
29-Boing Boing website, BoingBoing banned in UAE, Qatar , elsewhere , 27 February 2006, http://www.boingboing.net/2006/02/27/boingboing_banned_in.html (visited on 31 May 2006)
30-Boing Boing website, BoingBoing banned in UAE, Qatar , elsewhere, 27 February 2006, http://www.boingboing.net/2006/02/27/boingboing_banned_in.html (visited on 31 May 2006
31-Boing Boing website, BoingBoing banned in UAE, Qatar , elsewhere, 27 February 2006, http://www.boingboing.net/2006/02/27/boingboing_banned_in.html (visited on 31 May 2006
32-Gherbat Gasad, a pseudonym member at Al-Quma web forum complaining the blocking, http://www.alquma.net/vb/showthread.php?t=128102&page=1 (visited on 2 June 2006)
33-Gherbat Gasad, a pseudonym member at Al-Quma web forum complaining the blocking, http://www.alquma.net/vb/showthread.php?t=128102&page=1 (visited on 2 June 2006)
34-http://www.saudi123.com
35-Swalif forum, a member with the pseudonym "wodod.com", http://www.swalif.net/softs/showthread.php?t=153717 (visited on 4 June 2006)
36-Swalif forum, a member with the pseudonym "wodod.com", http://www.swalif.net/softs/showthread.php?t=153717 (visited on 4 June 2006)
37-Al-Watan newspaper, Q-Tel subscribers protests on the bad internet service, http://www.al-watan.com/printit.asp?news=local3&tdate=20060101 (visited on 4 June 2006)
38-Al-Watan newspaper, Q-Tel subscribers protests on the bad internet service, http://www.al-watan.com/printit.asp?news=local3&tdate=20060101 (visited on 4 June 2006
39-Al-Watan newspaper, Q-Tel subscribers protests on the bad internet service, http://www.al-watan.com/printit.asp?news=local3&tdate=20060101 (visited on 4 June 2006
40-Al-Watan newspaper, Q-Tel confirms the efficiency of its services … Subscribers insist on the inefficiency of the service, http://www.al-watan.com/data/20051228/index.asp?content=local1 (visited on 30 May 2006)
41-Al-Watan newspaper, Q-Tel confirms the efficiency of its services … Subscribers insist on the inefficiency of the service, http://www.al-watan.com/data/20051228/index.asp?content=local1 (visited on 30 May 2006)
42- Segad Al-Aiashy, 80% criticized slowness and high prices, Al-Sharq newspaper, 6 August 2005 , http://www.al-sharq.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=1&item_no=155712&v... (visited on 5 May 2006)
43- Segad Al-Aiashy, 80% criticized slowness and high prices, Al-Sharq newspaper, 6 August 2005 , http://www.al-sharq.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=1&item_no=155712&v... (visited on 5 May 2006)
44-Segad Al-Aiashy, 80% criticized slowness and high prices, Al-Sharq newspaper, 6 August 2005 , http://www.al-sharq.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=1&item_no=155712&v... (visited on 5 May 2006)
45-Ahmed Abdul Latif, Pornographic websites and magazines in Duha, Al-Raya newspaper, http://www.raya.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=104556&versi... (visited on 3 June 2006)
46-Ibid
47- Unidentified 55 years-old Tunisian citizen, email to The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, in reply to research questions
48-Nagatti Badr, Although the final exams are close, cyber cafes in Doha are full, Al-Sharq newspaper, 10 April 2006, http://www.al-sharq.com/site/topics/printArticle.asp?cu_no=1&item_no=183... (visited on 2 June 2006)
49-Nagatti Badr, Although the final exams are close, cyber cafes in Doha are full, Al-Sharq newspaper, 10 April 2006, http://www.al-sharq.com/site/topics/printArticle.asp?cu_no=1&item_no=183... (visited on 2 June 2006)
50-Hadiel Saber, What is the role of competent internet censorship authorities, Al-Sharq newspaper, 21 November 2005, http://www.al-sharq.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=1&item_no=167696&v... (visited on 3 June 2006)
51-Nagatti Badr, Although the final exams are close, cyber cafes in Doha are full, Al-Sharq newspaper, 10 April 2006, http://www.al-sharq.com/site/topics/printArticle.asp?cu_no=1&item_no=183... (visited on 2 June 2006)
52-Hadiel Saber, What is the role of competent internet censorship authorities, Al-Sharq newspaper, 21 November 2005, http://www.al-sharq.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=1&item_no=167696&v... (visited on 3 June 2006)
53-Ibid
