In spite of his traditional values, he has supported modernisation and his rule has seen many improvements in education, healthcare and the economy. Satellite dishes are banned but more than half of Saudi households are believed to have them. People in the country's east have a wide choice of programming as they can pick up signals from more liberal Gulf neighbours. Press All Saudi newspapers are created by Royal decree. Pan-Arab papers, subject to censorship, are available.
Saudi TV is available on the internet.
The government has invested heavily in security systems to control access to offensive internet sites. By unofficial estimates, two-thirds of internet users are women, possibly because of restrictions on their movements. In April 1999, Saudi Arabia reportedly had 112,500 internet users and 45,000 online subscribers.