A new report by the digital rights organization Technology and Law Community- Masaar has labeled Egypt’s criminalization of unlicensed websites a severe and unconstitutional threat to freedom of expression and digital space, five years after the 2018 media law came into force.
The report criticized Article 6 of Law No. 180 of 2018, which prohibits launching or managing websites, or establishing branches of foreign-based sites, without prior authorization from the Supreme Council for Media Regulation (SCMR). The law gives the council broad powers to revoke licenses, suspend activities, or block websites operating without its approval.
Masaar, a Cairo-based initiative of lawyers and technologists working to advance digital rights in the Middle East, warned that the law’s implementation has exposed a host of legal contradictions and overreach since 2018, particularly in the licensing framework governing online media.
“The vague wording of the provisions, the conflation of the concepts of “establishment” and “operation,” and the expansion of licensing requirements to include entities not expressly covered by the law, have led to a state of legal ambiguity and inconsistency in application,” the report said.
“Maintaining these provisions in their current form, along with the accompanying administrative practices, would turn the law from a tool for regulating freedoms into a tool for restricting them, and from a safeguard for press freedom into a means of confiscation and exclusion,” it added.
The report cited Al Manassa as one of several independent outlets caught in a prolonged licensing vacuum. The platform, founded in January 2016, followed all procedures in place at the time, including registration with the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority.
It filed for a media license in October 2018, before the law’s executive regulations were issued. After being asked to reapply in August 2020 using new forms, Al Manassa complied, but has received no official response to date.
Masaar described the licensing process as complicated and expensive, adding that final approval hinges on vague considerations such as national security requirements. This, it said, renders licensing a tool of control rather than an act of regulation.
The report also flagged what it called “excessively severe” and “disproportionate” financial penalties for operating without a license. Most fines under the media law range between 50,000 Egyptian pounds and 1 million pounds ($$1,032-$20,648). Yet, the offense of managing an unlicensed site carries a minimum penalty of 1 million pounds and a maximum of 3 million pounds ($20,648-$61,946)—without a clearly defined rationale.
In addition to fines, the law permits further sanctions such as confiscating equipment and shutting down offices involved in the violation.
Masaar argued that these provisions contravene multiple constitutional guarantees, including the principles of legality, proportionality, and personal accountability for criminal acts. It cited Article 71 of the Constitution, which prohibits media shutdowns and confiscations.
These penalties “represents a confiscation of the right to press and publishing freedom, resulting in direct and unlawful restrictions on freedom of expression,” the report stated.
The report also placed the unlicensed website provision within what it described as a broader campaign to control Egypt’s digital sphere, which has become a vital outlet for expression amid shrinking public space. It called on legislators to repeal the offense entirely and abolish the prior-licensing requirement for websites.
Concluding, the group recommended amending the law’s definitions and penalties to align with constitutional rights, placing limits on the SCMR’s authority, and establishing an independent body to review the council’s decisions and ensure judicial oversight.
