Access to US audio app Clubhouse was blocked in China last month, and Oman has followed suit in blocking Clubhouse on Sunday because it did not have the right permit, authorities said, but some activists described the move as a further erosion of freedom of expression in the Gulf state.
Residents of the Gulf state have been sharing error messages from the app on other platforms. Reuters notes that Clubhouse has become popular in Arab countries, where states typically run media organizations and residents can face prison for sharing critical opinions online.
Launched in early 2020, the San Francisco-based app saw global user numbers soar after Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev held a surprise discussion on the platform.
Telecoms regulator told WAF news website that the application was blocked due to a “lack of proper authorisation”. “Similar communication applications must obtain a permit from the authority,” the Omani Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said. Oman_blocks_Clubhouse was trending on social media in Oman on Sunday. Many Omanis shared screenshots of the app showing “error message”.
“The government of Oman takes the authoritarian government of China as a role model and bans … Clubhouse which has been used by Omanis as a space to express their opinions freely without government censorship,” the Omani Association For Human Rights said in a statement.
By its nature, Clubhouse is harder for governments to monitor than text-based social networks. There’s currently no easy option to listen to discussions after the fact. However, there have been instances of users sharing audio from the app elsewhere.
Clubhouse still requires an invite and is iOS-only, though competitors are moving into the audio-chat space. Twitter Spaces could become available to everyone on iOS and Android as soon as April. Facebook is said to be working on a version of Clubhouse too.
Clubhouse has faced criticism elsewhere over reports of misogyny, anti-Semitism, and COVID-19 misinformation on the platform despite rules against racism, hate speech, abuse, and false information. The app has said it is investing in tools to detect and prevent abuse as well as features for users, who can set rules for their rooms, to moderate conversations.
“I hope that the suspension of the Clubhouse app in Oman is a result of technical issues and not a formal ban,” tweeted Omani writer Zakaria al-Muharrmi. “Preventing people from speaking and listening to others does not protect societies, but rather increases tensions and pushes them into the abyss of chaos and confrontation.”
