The Electronic Transactions Law establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries for copyright infringements. According to Art. 14.1 of the law, an Intermediary shall not be held responsible civilly or criminally for any information received in the form of electronic records concerning a third party if the Intermediary is not the originator of such information and his role is restricted to providing access to such information if such responsibility arises on:
(a) Originating, publishing, or distributing such information or any data included therein.
(b) Trespassing on any of the personal rights related to such information.
For absolving the Intermediary from responsibility based on the above, the following shall be ascertained:
(a) He has no knowledge of any facts or circumstances, in the ordinary course of things, capable of creating criminal or civil responsibility; and
(b) In case of his knowledge of any of the above, he has immediately removed all information from any information system under his control and stopped access to or display of such information.

The Electronic Transactions Law establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries beyond copyright infringements. According to Art. 14.1 of the law, an Intermediary shall not be held responsible civilly or criminally for any information received in the form of electronic records concerning a third party if the Intermediary is not the originator of such information and his role is restricted to providing access to such information if such responsibility arises on:
(a) Originating, publishing, or distributing such information or any data included therein.
(b) Trespassing on any of the personal rights related to such information.
For absolving the Intermediary from responsibility based on the above, the following shall be ascertained:
(a) He has no knowledge of any facts or circumstances, in the ordinary course of things, capable of creating criminal or civil responsibility; and
(b) In case of his knowledge of any of the above, he has immediately removed all information from any information system under his control and stopped access to or display of such information.

It is reported that Oman imposes an identity requirement for SIM registration. Anyone wanting to purchase a SIM card has to provide their national ID card or a passport in case of foreigners to activate a new prepaid SIM card.

It is reported that media imports are subject to censorship by the Ministry of Heritage, Culture and Sport for morally or politically sensitive material. The Ministry of Information delays or bars publications of content it deems morally suspect or politically sensitive. Since 2021, Oman has blocked Clubhouse because it does not have a permit.

It is reported that Oman, through its government's majority-owned telecommunications service providers and telecommunications regulators, periodically slows or blocks access to certain over-the-top services such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services.

The indicator "7.2.4 - Government Internet shut down in practice" of the V-Dem Dataset, which measures whether the government has the technical capacity to actively make internet service cease, thus interrupting domestic access to the internet or whether the government has decided to do so, has a score of 3 in Oman for the year 2024. This corresponds to "Rarely but there have been a few occasions throughout the year when the government shut down domestic access to Internet."

According to Art. 2 of Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) Decision No. 1152/2/19/2024-20, no entity may establish, operate or provide cloud computing or data centre services without first obtaining a licence, except for those already licensed to provide fixed public telecommunications services. Under Art. 6, such licences are valid for three years and may be renewed, subject to continued compliance with the applicable regulatory requirements.

Pursuant to Art. 9 of the Media Law, any natural or legal person intending to engage in specified media activities must obtain a licence from the Ministry of Information, in accordance with the conditions, procedures and rules laid down in the Law and its implementing regulation. These activities include (i) operating news websites and news accounts and (ii) retransmitting any media activity within the country.
It is reported that both local and international media entities are required to secure licenses from the Ministry of Information and must comply with established regulations.

According to Art. 3 of Telecommunications Regulatory Authority Regulation No. 1152/2/19/2024-12, the commercial importation of communications equipment is prohibited unless a prior permit has been obtained from the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology. Pursuant to Art. 7 of the Regulation, applications for such licences must be submitted to the Authority using the prescribed form. The products concerned reportedly include screens, devices connected to data-processing and network equipment, telephones and other telecommunications devices, as well as audio, image or data transmission and reception equipment and GPS positioning devices.

Art. 23 of the Personal Data Protection Law provides that a controller may transfer personal data and permit its transfer beyond the borders of Oman in accordance with the controls and procedures set out in the regulations. Chapter 8 of the Executive Regulation clarifies that the explicit consent of the personal data holder is required prior to the transfer of personal data outside Oman, unless the transfer is made pursuant to an international obligation under an agreement to which Oman is a party, or the data is transferred in a manner that does not disclose the identity of the data holder. The chapter further requires the data controller to ensure that the foreign recipient of the data offers a level of protection that is not less than that prescribed by the Personal Data Protection Law and the Executive Regulation.

Oman has not joined any agreement with binding commitments to open transfers of data across borders.

The Law on the Protection of Personal Data enacted by Royal Decree No. 6 of 2022 provides a comprehensive regime of data protection in Oman. The Law consists of 32 articles which, among other things, introduce data protection principles and rights for data subjects that bring the country's legislative regime into closer alignment with global data protection laws. Furthermore, the Law appoints the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology as the regulatory authority responsible for enforcement.

Oman ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

Oman ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

Art. 65.3 of the Law on Industrial Property Rights allows the disclosure of data in industrial and commercial activities if necessary to protect the public interest. However, there is no further clarification on what constitutes public interest, leaving this provision ambiguous.