Egypt's anti-drug body launches new awareness phase in Maspero Triangle    Agiba Petroleum starts production from Arcadia-28 at 4,100 BOE/day    Minister El-Shimy pushes for stronger returns, partnerships in real estate, construction sectors    Apparel, textile chambers engage with Chinese delegation to explore investment opportunities in Egypt    Egypt reviews health insurance funding mechanism to ensure long-term sustainability    Obama calls for aid access to Gaza, says 'no justification' for withholding food    Gaza on verge of famine as war escalates, ceasefire talks stall    Gaza crisis, trade on agenda as Trump hosts Starmer in Scotland    Egyptian president follows up on initiatives to counter extremist thought    Egypt's SCZONE eyes deeper investment, port digitalisation ties with Singapore    Egypt's gold prices slip slightly on July 28th    Egypt's Housing Min. reviews HDP marketing plan    Indian Embassy to launch cultural festival in Assiut, film fest in Cairo    Egyptian aid convoy heads toward Gaza as humanitarian crisis deepens    Culture minister launches national plan to revive film industry, modernise cinematic assets    Sudan's ambassador to Egypt holds reconstruction talks on with Arab League    I won't trade my identity to please market: Douzi    Egypt welcomes 25-nation statement urging end to Gaza war    Sisi sends letter to Nigerian president affirming strategic ties    Egypt, Senegal sign pharma MoU to unify regulatory standards    Two militants killed in foiled plot to revive 'Hasm' operations: Interior ministry    Egypt, Somalia discuss closer environmental cooperation    Egypt foils terrorist plot, kills two militants linked to Hasm group    Egypt's EHA, Huawei discuss enhanced digital health    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    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    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



EIPR: court ignorant of how internet functions
Published in Daily News Egypt on 14 - 02 - 2013

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have joined national and international condemnation of the 30-day YouTube ban ordered last week by the Cairo Administrative Court.
The ban comes after YouTube refused to remove a short movie called “The Innocence of Muslims" which sparked global anger for its erroneous depiction of the prophet Mohamed. The court has since ordered that all websites displaying or promoting the video be blocked in Egypt.
The EIPR said the court's ruling “may force the hand of the National Telecom Regulation Authority (NTRA) and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), which have refrained from pursuing such a ban themselves".
The NTRA has been forced to censor internet content before, the EIPR explained. In November 2012, an administrative court ordered a ban on all websites containing pornographic material. The order declared that “freedom of expression and public rights should be restricted by maintaining the fundamentals of religion, morality and patriotism" and denounced pornographic content as “venomous and vile".
The Prosecutor General ordered government ministries to enforce the ban and the NTRA responded by asking internet service providers to block such content, but added that it was virtually impossible to filter all pornographic material displayed on the internet. The EFF responded to the request with distress, saying that such a move could mark the beginning of a “centralised filtering regime".
The EIPR said this time the NTRA may not be so lenient. It would be impossible to block all websites that link to, share, or promote the video “without an expensive centralised internet censorship apparatus, but the order to block YouTube is quite straightforward".
The EIPR pointed at YouTube's voluntary blocking of the video last September, speculating it may have been done under pressure from the United States government or in response to global outrage. It was critical of the company, saying “it appears that YouTube's willingness to make an exception to Google's policies and censor the video in Egypt did not go far enough for the Egyptian court. If YouTube was hoping that a little temporary censorship on a volunteer basis would save it from a nation-wide ban on their entire website, it has miscalculated badly".
Acknowledging that YouTube should be criticised for its decision, the EIPR said that “the bulk of the blame should fall on the court, whose overbroad and potentially ineffective ruling demonstrates an alarming ignorance of how the internet functions".
“By blocking YouTube," the EIPR continued, “the Egyptian court blocks access to millions of videos besides ‘The Innocence of Muslims', creating tremendous collateral damage to Egyptians' access to knowledge and freedom of expression".
Such a block could easily be circumnavigated using proxies or programs such as Tor.
“Censorship of popular widely-used websites such as YouTube makes everyone into a criminal and undermines respect for the law," the EIPR and EFF concluded.


Clic here to read the story from its source.