No Official Decision to ban WhatsApp Voice Call in Egypt – Telecom Minister

There is currently no official decision to ban the voice call service of mobile application WhatsApp or any another similar application, Egypt’s Minister of Telecommunication Khaled Negm announced Tuesday.

In a TV interview aired on CBC Extra TV channel Negm also added that the government does not monitor communications insisting it has no policing role.

Negm said citizens’ communications are monitored only after a court order allows it, denying the ministry’s involvment in any kind of social media or communications surveillance.

Last month Egypt’s largest mobile service provider Vodafone raised questions in a letter sent to Egypt’s telecommunications regulator about the legality of WhatsApp’s free voice-calling feature due to be released later this year.

The government previously stated it considered banning popular mobile apps “WhatsApp” and “Viber” in the country in 2013 for allegedly providing free calls and messages.

Source:Ahram Online