Egyptian public prosecutor has issued a decision to block pornographic websites in Egypt which will cost the state about one hundred million EGP. Sheikh Younis Makhion, leader in the Salafi Nour Party, said that such price is reasonable concerning the devastating effects on national security of such pornographic websites. However, this decision didn't give a specific definition of “pornographic websites”. It could be sites that distribute pure sexual materials, +18 music video website, or even scientific websites about human sexual activity. We don't know what kind of websites they are talking about. I wonder: Is Haifaa Wahbi's song “Bos Al Wawa” included in their list of the material that threaten the Egyptian national security!
I think they could have used this money in cleaning the streets of Cairo and Giza of the huge amount of garbage instead of their desperate try to prevent about 20 million internet users from visiting such websites.
According to Amr Badawy, chief executive of the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, full blocking of any website is impossible in any country including Egypt of course, as there are many ways to overcome this blocking, and no country could do it. So, why should Egypt spend all this money knowing that it's impossible to achieve the full blocking?
As the State has decided to buy the blocking devices and technology, the government can block any other websites that they don't like especially as they have no definition for the pornographic websites. Do they intend to block the political sites of their opposition later?
I say that because they justify such blocking as it threatens the Egyptian national security. Our government is not trying to change the reality to help its people, but to change the people to match their reality!
We have in Egypt many problems including housing and unemployment problems. We have more than 8 million men and 13 million women who are willing but are not able to get married. The government could have tried to help them by providing cheap houses and job opportunities so that they may enjoy their life instead of chasing the illusion in porno websites. Those young people will find a way to visit any pornographic websites as long as they can't afford having the normal relationship in the marriage. However, the government is trying to block some websites instead of blocking the ugly reality, which adds another failure to the government.
I know that Haifaa Wahbi is not a big threat for the Egyptian national security, but unemployment, low wages and poverty, which leads many young people to visit some pornographic websites, illegal immigration or even get married to Israeli women.
