CAIRO: It would be extremely difficult to block “obscene websites, the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) said following a court ruling Tuesday which ordered the NTRA and the Telecommunications Ministry to do just that.
Cairo’s Administrative Court’s ruled Wednesday that the NTRA and the ministry are obliged to block “obscene websites in Egypt. The ruling was met with heavy criticism from rights groups, bloggers and Egypt’s literati.
But it seems that logistics, not criticism, may impede the application of the verdict.
“Blocking is an extremely complicated and difficult operation and cannot be controlled; in addition it impedes the process of reaching other websites, said Amr Badawy, NTRA executive chairman.
On Dream TV’s, “Al-Ashera Masaan, Badawy said that there is a service that blocks obscene websites which people can subscribe to.
Bestselling novelist Alaa El-Aswani reiterated the logistical difficulty of blocking websites.
“It is an extremely costly measure, which, first of all, will affect the quality of the internet and second, there is no such thing as 100 percent blocking, explained El-Aswani.
“Through this [verdict] they are diminishing the roads that lead to knowledge, he added.
Independent Egyptian filmmaker Ahmed Khaled had only one word to describe what he said is a censorship verdict: “ignorance.
Like rights groups, El-Aswani said that the verdict would be used as “an excuse to block the voices of the opposition, religious groups, activists, etc. as there will be misuse of power.
“The idea of banning or blocking is very dangerous, he added.
El-Aswani is against giving the state the authority to make the choice on behalf of each citizen on what websites they can access.
“The state shouldn’t act as a guardian on the people; internet service providers offer a bundle for families who want to block these websites. This, in my opinion, is the best possible solution whereby each citizen will have the option of blocking those websites and at the same time there wouldn’t be any misuse of power, he said.
The case was brought by lawyer Nezar Ghorab who told AFP that it “has nothing to do with personal freedom. If freedom harms others, it is no longer a freedom.
According to AFP, Ghorab cited the recent case of a couple imprisoned for setting up a swingers club online as highlighting “the dangers posed by such offensive websites.
In its ruling, the Administrative Court held that freedom of expression is limited by “society’s traditions and values.
“The [Egyptian] Constitution affirms the necessity of freedom of expression not being restricted to certain sources . other than the shackles and restrictions imposed by society’s traditions and values, the ruling reads, as quoted by state news agency MENA.
“Rights and freedoms are not absolute, but rather limited by the [need to] protect the pure essence of the family which in its turn is the basis of society, and whose constituent elements are religion, morals and patriotism.
“The state and society are obligated to safeguard the nation’s high level of religious upbringing, moral and patriotic values . as well as public morals.
According to MENA, the court found that obscene websites “spread depravity within Egyptian society via sound and vision, which destroys deeply-rooted religious beliefs, moral values and public morals.
