Oman, the oldest independent state in the Arab world, became the second country in the world after China to officially block the Clubhouse app. Oman's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority's official statement says that the app's developers did not have permission from the authorities to run the application. Activists already call this decision a blow to freedom of speech in the country.
Clubhouse is a new social networking app based on voice chats, where people around the world come together to talk, listen to each other, and learn from each other something new in real-time.
The Omani Centre for Human Rights said that the government has decided to follow China's footsteps and block the app, which Omanis used as a place for free expression without government censorship.
The app has become popular in Arab countries, where governments directly control the media, and all critics risk going to jail for their opinions.
Omani writer Zakariya al-Muharrami expressed his opinion on the matter and said he hoped the Clubhouse's blocking in Oman resulted from technical problems rather than a formal ban. Prohibiting people from speaking and listening to others does not protect societies but rather increases tensions and pushes them into chaos and confrontation.