The Egyptian House of Representatives has approved in principle a draft law regulating transportation services using information technology, in a way that will allow online taxi applications to operate legally across the country Hearing in the parliament committees were attended by representatives of Uber and Careem, as reported by Egypt Independent. A debate has emerged regarding the use of users' private data, with companies expressing concerns regarding some articles of the law, and the State Council objected to some of the articles deemed a violation to citizens' privacy. The Egyptian administrative court recently issued a ruling to suspend the operations of Uber and Careem. Services of the two ride-hailing firms had caused outrage among local taxi drivers, who complained that the drivers did not need to pay the big fees to operate transportation vehicles. The court has accepted a petition by a lawyer who demands the government to halt licensing Uber and Careem activities in the Arab world's most populous country, including their online applications. The Egyptian minister of investments and international cooperation Sahar Nasr previously stressed the government's keenness to create a positive business environment, supported by legislative reforms that guarantees pumping new investments in the private sector, to create new job opportunities for the Egyptian youth. Nasr also noted that a draft law for private companies working in the transportation sector will soon provide a legislative frame for companies operating in the field such as Uber. Last September, the minister said that President Abdel Fattah El Sisi asked Uber officials to introduce public transportation soon in all governorates. The minister then indicated that Uber will soon launch its public bus services in Egypt.
