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Egyptian prosecutor tells government to block online porn

Egyptian prosecutor tells government to block online porn

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Egypt's public prosecutor has ordered government authorities to "take the necessary measures" to block pornographic material online. Abdel Maguid Mahmoud made the decision based on a court ruling three years ago that called for the "freedom of expression and public rights" to be restricted in order to maintain "the fundamentals of religion, morality and patriotism." According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, liberal voices have expressed fears that this is the start of a wider attack on personal freedoms. Egypt's Telecommunications Minister Hany Mahmoud has been quoted as saying that the correct way to address the issue is to raise awareness in the young, adding that a blanket ban would be "technically difficult" to implement.

Egypt isn't the only country to be toying with the idea of restricting access to adult material. British Prime Minister David Cameron is reportedly mulling over a similar plan for UK citizens that would block adult material by default. Unlike the Egyptian order, however, users would be able to "opt-in" to view porn. Many carriers in the UK already have a similar system in place for mobile internet access. The plan has come under fire by some for being too heavy-handed, with critics pointing to parental controls as a more elegant alternative to blanket bans.