Egypt Court Rules against Banning Porn Websites

The Administrative Court ruled on Saturday against the banning of pornography websites in Egypt.

A case was filed by lawyer Ibrahim El-Salamony against former President Mohamed Morsi’s request to ban pornography websites in Egypt.

El-Salamony filed the case, arguing that marriage burdens and high unemployment in recent years have led many young men to turn to pornographic websites. Banning such sites, the lawyer said, would protect society.

Last November, former Prosecutor-General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud submitted an official letter to the ministries of telecommunications, information and interior ordering that measures be adopted to ban pornographic websites in Egypt, based on a 2009 court order to this effect.

In May 2009, Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court declared a ban on pornographic websites. The move was based on a lawsuit filed by Islamist lawyer Nezar Ghourab.

Blocking pornographic websites would cost Egypt up to LE100 million ($16.5m) to implement and may place a significant strain on the country’s internet services, according to telecom and IT experts.
Source: Aswat Masriya