CAIRO, Egypt — A prime minister of Egypt’s ultra-conservative al-Nour Salafist religious party is pushing for an all out ban on the country’s Internet porn sites.
According to reports, prime minister Younis Makhioun has requested an “urgent briefing” to be discussed in Egypt’s lower house.
"These sites spread evil among different sects of the Egyptian society, its content is criminalized by Egyptian law as well as being a breach of religious beliefs and social values and morals," Makhioun said.
Despite an outcry from some Egyptians about the loss of personal freedoms and the possibility of further censorship to non-porn sites, the prime minister stated that blocking adult sites should not be considered a breach of freedom of speech.
Others however, are supporting the ban.
In 2009, a ban on Egyptian porn sites was ordered by the administrative court, sparked by a lawsuit that called them “complicit” in spreading vice and conducting harm to society.
But the ministry of communication said it could not comply to the court order, stating the choice was up to individual users.
The new proposed ban is expected to pass the conservative Islamist-dominated parliament.
Egypt was reportedly listed in the number five spot globally in searching for the term “sex” online in 2011, joined by Algeria and Morocco also in the top 10, according to Google trends.
The Arabic language is reportedly used second only to English as the language of search choice for online adult content.