EGX ends week mostly higher on Oct. 16    Egypt, Qatar sign MoU to boost cooperation in healthcare, food safety    Egypt, UK, Palestine explore financing options for Gaza reconstruction ahead of Cairo conference    Egyptian Amateur Open golf tournament relaunches after 15-year hiatus    Egypt's Kouchouk: IMF's combined reviews will give clearer picture of fiscal performance    Egypt will never relinquish historical Nile water rights, PM says    Oil prices rise on Thursday    Fragile Gaza ceasefire tested as humanitarian crisis deepens    Egypt explores cooperation with Chinese firms to advance robotic surgery    CBE, China's National Financial Regulatory sign MoU to strengthen joint cooperation    Avrio Gold to launch new jewellery, bullion factory in early 2026    AUC makes history as 1st global host of IMMAA 2025    Al Ismaelia launches award-winning 'TamaraHaus' in Downtown Cairo revival    Al-Sisi, Burhan discuss efforts to end Sudan war, address Nile Dam dispute in Cairo talks    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Al-Burhan renew opposition to Ethiopia's unilateral Blue Nile moves    Egypt's Cabinet hails Sharm El-Sheikh peace summit as turning point for Middle East peace    Gaza's fragile ceasefire tested as aid, reconstruction struggle to gain ground    Egypt's human rights committee reviews national strategy, UNHRC membership bid    Al-Sisi, world leaders meet in Sharm El-Sheikh to coordinate Gaza ceasefire implementation    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile actions, calls for global water cooperation    Egypt unearths one of largest New Kingdom Fortresses in North Sinai    Egypt unearths New Kingdom military fortress on Horus's Way in Sinai    Egypt Writes Calm Anew: How Cairo Engineered the Ceasefire in Gaza    Egypt's acting environment minister heads to Abu Dhabi for IUCN Global Nature Summit    Egyptian Open Amateur Golf Championship 2025 to see record participation    Cairo's Al-Fustat Hills Park nears completion as Middle East's largest green hub – PM    El-Sisi boosts teachers' pay, pushes for AI, digital learning overhaul in Egypt's schools    Egypt's Sisi congratulates Khaled El-Enany on landslide UNESCO director-general election win    Syria releases preliminary results of first post-Assad parliament vote    Karnak's hidden origins: Study reveals Egypt's great temple rose from ancient Nile island    Egypt resolves dispute between top African sports bodies ahead of 2027 African Games    Egypt reviews Nile water inflows as minister warns of impact of encroachments on Rosetta Branch    Egypt aims to reclaim global golf standing with new major tournaments: Omar Hisham    Egypt to host men's, juniors' and ladies' open golf championships in October    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







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Egypt porn ban would cost up to $16.5 million and be 'useless': Experts
Published in Ahram Online on 29 - 04 - 2012

Blocking adult websites would be costly, only partially successful and set a worrying precedent for internet freedoms, say delegates at a Cairo tech conference; but others believe the social benefits worth the price
Blocking pornographic websites will cost Egypt up to LE100 million ($16.5m) to implement and may cause significant slowdown to the country's internet services, according to telecoms and IT experts.
A Cairo seminar held this weekend saw experts dub any attempt to censor sites "useless", adding that such a move would only be effective for a few months before more money would have to be spent.
Earlier this year, Islamist members of Egypt's newly-elected parliament called for measures to block all pornographic websites, citing their allegedly corrosive effect on society and moral values.
The mooted ban was a hot topic at the three-day Cairo ICT technology conference which began on 26 April, and where delegates held sharply divergent views on an initiative that experts estimated would cost the state between LE70 million and LE100 million ($11.6m - $16.5m) to enact.
While some expressed moral approval of a porn crackdown, others worried about freedom of expression, logistics, and the possible effect on Egypt's burgeoning IT sector.
"If parliamentary legislation is passed to block websites then the decision will also have to detail the means to carry out the blocking," said Ahmed Helmi, an official at the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA).
Communications expert Nagi Anis warned that blocking sites would cause "significant slow[ing of] internet service" which could hamper Egypt's future attempts to develop electronic commerce and attract investment.
He pointed out the irony of the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Mohamed Salem, promising a potential quadrupling of internet speeds while others are suggesting a censorious move that would essentially slash transfer rates.
Anis added that all Egypt's telecoms firms have technical programmes they can use to block internet sites, making the private sector able to bear the financial burden.
As well as the toll on state coffers, Anis also warned of a risk to Egypt's civil liberties, saying restricting access to pornographic sites could be only the first step in blockingall internet content that certain quarters deem objectionable.
Countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and China, which have near-complete blocks on pornography, have also effectively banned political websites, he claimed.
Such fears were echoed by Shaarawi Shaarawi, political activist and treasurer of the Egyptian Internet Association, who said blocking adults sites could be a prelude to a crackdown on online political voices and lead to the type of repression witnessed under the Mubarak regime.
Shaarawi also criticised the paucity of internet content for Egyptians, saying only 2 percent of global internet content was in Arabic and new resources are needed to hold local interest and compete against the "rotten content" from abroad.
Less nuanced was the view of Mohamed Amara, professor of jurisprudence at Al-Azhar University and a member of the parliamentary movement calling for the pornography ban on religious grounds.
Stressing that neither he nor Islam was against progress, Amara claimed many people used pornographic sites to the point of addiction, adding that such use could be "more harmful than substance abuse".
At the same time, however, he seemed to suggest that the state's blocking of pornography will not completely limit access to such websites.
"I think that if one wants to do something against Islam then they can do it," Amara said. "[But] our role is to help preserve the Arab and Islamic identity."
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/40378.aspx


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