Parts of Facebook censored by Qtel

Certain applications on the popular Facebook social networking site have been blocked by Qatar Telecom (Qtel) much to the surprise of regular visitors.

However, there is recourse to getting access restored, Adel Al Mutawa, Qtel Executive Director (Group Communications) said yesterday. "We have installed software which is updated automatically and may end up blocking certain applications. It is not done by us manually," he said.

However, a manual option is available and Al Mutawa said a user should only send an e-mail to censor[AT]qatar.net.qa or contact the Qtel help desk on '111' if the person thinks the site is being wrongly blocked. "We will then take the necessary action," the official said.

Source: The Peninsula

Qtel would like you to believe that they censor the Internet for three reasons: "pornography, political criticism of Gulf countries and anti-Islamic sites."

However, there are two more reasons that they don't talk about. The first is that they block sites by mistake. One such block is the facebook application 'Entourage', which you can configure to show miniature pictures of all your friends. However, the following link is blocked, which prevents you altering your settings:
http://apps.facebook...

They haven't blocked anyone from viewing the entourage images, just from changing their settings.

Another block I've written about in the past is Taipei Perl Mongers. One year ago, I wrote to the Qtel censor to tell them about the incorrect censorship - they never replied, and the block continues.

The second additional reason is that they block sites that offend people. If you complain to Qtel about a site, they will block it, whether it falls into one of their three categories or not. Feel free to email Qtel asking why they blocked the discussion of piglet on Qatar Living. It's unlikely that they'll reply.

Nor will ictQatar answer questions about the filter. As telecom regulator, it is their job to control the activities of Qtel, but they are unwilling to publish the guidelines which Qtel is following when they block sites. From what I can find out from people within ictQatar, the web censorship is an embarrassment, which they don't want to get involved with. If that's the case, who is regulating Qtel???