In a move that will sadden many young Egyptian males, the country's state prosecutor has ordered a ban on Internet pornography. Abdel Meguid Mahmud, the state prosecutor, directed his order towards the ministries of information, telecommunications, and interior to “take steps to block any pornographic pictures or scenes on the internet.” The main reason behind the ban is that pornography “ruins moral values.“
What’s interesting is that this is not the first time such a ban has been imposed in Egypt. In 2009, well before the Arab Spring, an administrative court issued a similar order with the same reasoning behind it. However Egypt, unlike other countries in the region, has not implemented this order, hence the second one now. And let's not forget about a similar proposal that was introduced in the Egyptian Parliament earlier this year.
It will be interesting to see if the new government of Egypt along with the new president, Mohamed Morsi, will actually implement it this time or if they will ignore it again. Will they see it as an affront to values that has to be stopped or as by-product of the freedom of speech and democratic values they claim to adhere to?
Via: Phys.org Source: AFP
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