{"id":18419,"date":"2024-09-28T17:22:14","date_gmt":"2024-09-28T15:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/?p=18419"},"modified":"2026-10-09T00:06:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T22:06:15","slug":"press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/press\/","title":{"rendered":"Stifling Independent Journalism: How Are Platforms Denied Licences in Egypt?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Independent news platforms in Egypt are subjected to forms of restriction, ranging from denial of licences and content blocking to the detention and prosecution of some of their editors-in-chief. Meanwhile, journalists and human rights defenders consider that the Supreme Council for Media Regulation has turned into a tool in the hands of the authorities, which use it to impose a single-voice policy on the media and the press.<\/p>\n

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Under Law No. 180 of 2018<\/a> regulating the press and media, establishing and broadcasting electronic news platforms in Egypt requires a legal licence granted by the Supreme Council for Media Regulation, and news platforms became obliged to regularise their status according to a set of conditions, controls, obligations and procedures stipulated by the law. The council requires payment of fees of EGP 50,000, deposited in the council’s bank account when applying and before the platform is approved and granted the necessary permits. It also requires a copy of the national ID card of the platform’s owner, the chairman of the board and the editor-in-chief, in addition to the owner’s criminal record certificate, the tax card, a commercial register for the company with capital of no less than EGP 100,000, and a copy of the receipt for depositing the fees set by law, EGP 50,000.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

According to Decision No. 26 of 2020<\/a> on issuing the regulation governing licences at the Supreme Council for Media Regulation, owners of electronic news websites\/platforms must go to the Supreme Council’s headquarters, write the application by hand, and fill in the form, which requires stating the owner’s name, title and nationality, the value of the subscribed capital, the name, number and specialisation of the websites owned, the platform\/website’s management headquarters, the legal address, its type and its purposes, the website’s marketing plan, its methods and sources of funding, its editorial policy and advertising policies, the target audience, the trademark, and the name, title and nationality of the person authorised to deal with the Supreme Council. They must also submit a copy of the commercial register, a copy of the tax card, a copy of the identity documents of the owner or owners, a budget statement, a certified registration certificate of ownership of the website’s trademark, as well as an undertaking that includes a mechanism to prevent broadcasting harmful content through the outlet and its website, a copy of the ownership or lease contract of the website’s management headquarters, a statement of where a date-certified copy of the servers is kept at the Real Estate Registry, and a receipt for payment of a fee of EGP 50,000.<\/p>\n

The years following the law’s adoption saw licences granted to a number of platforms\/websites; however, independent news platforms trying to regularise their legal status have often had their applications rejected or ignored. In the latest episode of the series of restrictions, the management of the electronic platform “Fakar Tany<\/strong>” was surprised last week to receive an official letter signed by the secretary-general of the Supreme Council for Media Regulation, notifying “Free Think Media<\/strong>“, the company that owns the platform, that its application to license its news website had been rejected. This came after it had applied to the Supreme Council for Media for a licence last year, completed the required documents and paid the required fees to the council’s treasury in July of last year, 2023. They also registered the platform’s trademark weeks ago and it was published in the Official Gazette, according to Mohamed Salah<\/strong>, chairman of the board of the electronic news platform “Fakar Tany<\/strong>“, speaking to Zawia3<\/strong>. He stresses that they did not receive any response or notifications during the period stipulated by law.<\/p>\n

As Salah explains, the council justifies the rejection decision in its letter with three reasons: the lack of clarity of the advertising policy in line with the platform’s objectives, the lack of clarity of its sources and methods of funding, and finally the lack of clarity of the plan for securing the devices and equipment used to provide the service via the platform. He points out that these matters had already been clarified in the form filled in when applying to the council, noting that these reasons have nothing to do with the licensing conditions stipulated by the law, and that the response came very late and not within the period stipulated by law. He wonders how the decision was issued even though the council’s term had already ended and no decision had been issued forming a new council.<\/p>\n

The chairman of the board stresses his determination not to give up and to pursue the necessary legal procedures until the “Fakar Tany” platform is able to obtain a licence. According to him, these consist of filing a grievance against the decision with the council itself and challenging the decision before the Supreme Administrative Court. He points out that during its previous term the Supreme Council for Media did not grant licences to any of the independent news websites\/platforms, while it easily granted licences to newly established websites, which leaves the platforms and their managements exposed to the charge of running a website without a licence and to paying large fines or being blocked.<\/p>\n

Recommended reading:<\/strong> Does the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate Do Justice to Those Working in Online Journalism?<\/a><\/p>\n

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The Voice of the Authorities and a Showcase of Its Achievements<\/h3>\n

Journalist Sameh Hanin<\/strong>, editor-in-chief of the electronic news platform “Fakar Tany”, reveals that he did not expect the licence for his platform to be approved, judging by the Supreme Council for Media’s failure to grant licences to any independent news platforms, so that they are not given the right to work in a legal environment, which leaves them exposed to restrictions and prosecution by the authorities, while licences are easily granted to websites that represent the voice of the authorities, confine themselves to showcasing its achievements, and do not convey the voice of the street or express society’s problems.<\/p>\n

Hanin believes that rejecting licences for independent platforms cannot be separated from the closing of the public sphere and the control of security whims over the press. He stresses the right of Egyptian citizens to information and knowledge, and to a press that expresses their problems and their fears of erratic economic policies, which in turn have affected their livelihoods and every detail of their lives, and that tells them what their future will look like. Amid the national dialogue and talk of opening the public sphere and changing policies and faces, licences for independent platforms are being rejected instead of the government benefiting from the problems and street opinions they reveal. He stresses that the platform he edits will not give up its attempts to obtain a licence and to work legally.<\/p>\n

As editor-in-chief of an independent news platform, Hanin<\/strong> feels concerned about being subjected to the forms of restriction and legal prosecution that editors-in-chief of other platforms have faced, which pushes him to seek accuracy and professionalism and “not exceed the permitted general ceiling”, to avoid his website being blocked. He adds: “We try to gain ground in the street, but we do not wish to have the website blocked, so we scrutinise every word, sentence and headline, and we are careful when choosing the ideas for our stories. It is natural for us to feel fear and worry for ourselves and for the journalists working with us; many journalists in Egypt have gone through difficult experiences because of this in recent years and do not want to repeat them, and their colleagues do not want to go through the same tragic experiences.”<\/p>\n

Recommended reading:<\/strong> Gaza Brings the Journalists Syndicate Back to the Political Forefront<\/a><\/p>\n

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Address Not Found<\/h3>\n
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The intransigence that “Fakar Tany” faced, and that prevented it from obtaining a licence, has previously been faced by most independent news platforms in Egypt, which have either received notification that their licence applications were rejected or have received no response for years. In a statement<\/a> on Thursday, 26 September 2024, the Egyptian Observatory for Journalism and Media said it had documented the Supreme Council for Media’s refusal to grant a licence to “Fakar Tany”, despite the website’s management fulfilling the required documents and conditions, stressing that it is not “the first independent website that those in charge of the Supreme Council for Media have refused to license, as the council refused to grant a licence to both Al Manassa and Mada Masr, despite their years-long attempts to obtain the necessary licences”.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Salah Eldin Hassan<\/strong>, editor-in-chief of the Zat Masr website, tells Zawia3<\/strong> that he applied for a licence for the website about four years ago, and the application was examined and initially accepted, but the Supreme Council for Media did not agree to grant the licence. The website’s management was then informed that the reason for the rejection was that the application documents were incomplete. When he asked about the missing documents, the official refused to answer and told him that a letter would be sent from the council to the address of the website’s headquarters. The management did not receive any letters, and when he went back to ask at the council about seven months ago, he was told that the letter had indeed been sent to them and that no one had received it, and that it seemed the address could not be found. He asked to collect it from the council, but the employee refused and told him they would send it to them again. To this day, the website’s management has not received a response from the council regarding the documents the official claims are missing.<\/p>\n

Hassan believes that these bureaucratic procedures are betting on despair of obtaining licences for platforms and websites, which he has come to feel. He explains that working without a licence is a risk, as he is liable to be summoned by the prosecution at any time, and he was recently summoned to the Supreme Council to be informed that he faces a fine of EGP 2 million because his platform’s website is unlicensed, a huge sum he stresses he cannot pay. He notes that obtaining licences for platforms requires security approval, and that the authorities must be satisfied with them and see no current or future danger they pose to them.<\/p>\n

The editor-in-chief of “Zat Masr” explains how he was recently summoned to the Public Prosecution over the website’s publication of a story concerning EgyptAir, which filed a complaint against them over it, revealing that he was interrogated in two sessions within a week on the matter, and that the prosecution told him it was awaiting the court’s decision.<\/p>\n

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Running a Website Without a Licence<\/h3>\n

Meanwhile, Nora Younis<\/strong>, editor-in-chief of the Al Manassa website, reveals that the website’s management applied to the Supreme Council for Media for a licence in October 2018 and paid the licence fee; however, they have not received a response to this day, despite sending letters to inquire about the application and to ask whether any documents were missing, expressing their full readiness to cooperate with the council.<\/p>\n

In 2020, Nora was surprised by a security force storming the headquarters of “Al Manassa”<\/strong> in the Maadi district of Cairo, where she was working alone during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was detained for two nights at the Maadi police station and charged with running a website without a licence, a second charge related to copyrighted works, and a third charge related to the Cybercrime Law, making her the first journalist in Egypt to face this type of charge.<\/p>\n

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In addition to the intransigence in granting licences to electronic news platforms, Nora Younis tells Zawia3 how the platforms suffer from repeated blocking, including Al Manassa, which has been blocked 15 times since 2016 and changed its “domain” each time. She points out that Egyptian law grants the Supreme Council for Media Regulation the right to block websites temporarily as a penalty, but this is done illegally, unofficially and without announcement, explaining that the only time the council announced the blocking of the “Mada Masr” website for six months, the block had in fact been in place since 2017.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The licensing circuit of the Administrative Judiciary Court had ruled<\/a> on 24 May 2023 to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the Mada Masr company and upheld the Supreme Council for Media Regulation’s decision to reject the licence of the “Mada Masr<\/strong>” website, claiming that the website’s officials had applied for the licence more than six months after the executive regulations of the Media Regulation Law were issued, although they had applied for registration in October 2018 and received no response from the council at the time. The court justified its ruling by the absence of anything proving the registration of a trademark and the absence of a certificate from the commercial register showing the shareholder structure. However, a statement<\/a> issued by the website stressed that Hassan El-Azhary, the lawyer in charge of Mada Masr, had submitted to the court proof of the website’s attempt to obtain a licence from the council two months after the Media Regulation Law was issued in August 2018, an official certificate from the commercial register showing the names of the partners and the company’s executive director, and a certificate of registration of Mada’s trademark, but the court disregarded those documents and ruled to dismiss the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

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Applying the “Gamal Abdel Nasser” Experience<\/h3>\n

Sara Ramadan<\/strong>, a researcher at the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, explains that according to the laws, the Supreme Council for Media is supposed to respond to licence applications from websites within a certain period, and if it does not respond within that period, this is considered an acknowledgement that the websites may operate. But this is not what happens in reality, as the committee does not respond to applications to regularise their status. This aims to control the content of those websites through licences or under the pretext of protecting professional ethics, which contradicts press freedom at a time when media blackouts prevail during crises and it becomes difficult for journalists to access information, while they also face the charge of spreading false news, which is levelled when content that annoys the authorities is published, whether on websites and in newspapers or even on social media pages.<\/p>\n

She points out that the council grants licences only to websites affiliated with the authorities or those that offer non-controversial content far from politics, and that licences are not granted to the websites of political parties not affiliated with the authorities. She considers these decisions illegal and restrictive of freedoms, and says it is impossible for advanced societies to exist without a strong independent press capable of exposing corruption.<\/p>\n

Sara explains that the normal situation is for websites to notify the Supreme Council and then carry out their work, and the experiences of developed countries could be applied by drawing up a code of conduct defining the rules news websites must abide by. She notes that the council had launched an observatory for violations of the profession’s ethical code in the media and drama, but journalists did not take part at all in drawing up that code and the Journalists Syndicate did not approve it, so the matter turned into mere authoritarian decisions with the council as the driving tool, while United Media Services, which controls most media outlets, has become a backer of the authorities in Egypt.<\/p>\n

The researcher at the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression believes that the authorities are trying to apply the experience of the “Gamal Abdel Nasser” regime and the Socialist party with the media and the press, namely a single voice broadcast to all people, but they are “ploughing the sea because of citizen journalism and social media”, neither of which is spared security prosecution and accusations of spreading false news, as the authorities deliberately besiege the outlets for expressing opinion and the free flow of information, both of which are linked to the existence of an independent press, which faces restrictions from the Supreme Council for Media and from some regulations and articles restricting freedoms in the Penal Code, as well as the absence of a freedom of information law in Egypt until now.<\/p>\n

Recommended reading:<\/strong> The Journalists Syndicate in the Face of Legislation Restricting Freedoms<\/a><\/p>\n

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An Extension of Policies Silencing Different Voices<\/h3>\n

For its part, the freedoms committee of the Journalists Syndicate issued a statement<\/a> today, Saturday, affirming its solidarity with the “Fakar Tany” platform after the Supreme Council for Media’s decision to reject its licence, which it said rests on “elastic phrases and unclear reasons and reflects a state of arbitrariness”. It considered the rejection an extension of the policies of blocking, silencing different voices and restricting freedoms, and said these are responsible for the crisis of the press and media, coming from a council that is supposed to regulate the press, not to restrict and prevent publication or pursue different voices.<\/p>\n

The committee called for facilitating licensing procedures for all news websites, whatever their editorial policies, to get the media out of its predicament, and for opening the door to diversity, not confiscation and blocking, interference in the form of content and the way it is presented, or the expansion of investigations against those with different views. It affirmed its solidarity with the journalists at “Fakar Tany” and other news websites that face difficulties in having their licences accepted, such as “Zat Masr”, “Al Manassa”, “Mada Masr” and “Sada El Balad”, renewing its demands to lift the block immediately on all blocked news websites, which were blocked years ago without any legal basis or on the basis of elastic criteria such as lack of clarity, not to use blocking as a means of punishing those with differing opinions, and to amend the legal texts that allow this, so that blocking takes place only on the basis of a court ruling, not an administrative decision.<\/p>\n

Commenting on the statement, journalist Mahmoud Kamel<\/strong>, head of the freedoms committee of the Journalists Syndicate, stresses in press statements to Zawia3<\/strong> that the private press in Egypt faces forms of restriction regarding the website licences issued by the Supreme Council for Media Regulation, ranging from rejection, as happened with “Fakar Tany”, to no response for years, as happened with other websites, especially if those websites enjoy a margin of freedom or differ from the general context prevailing in the press. He notes that the syndicate has no statistics or clear figures showing the number of websites whose licences were rejected or went unanswered, given the absence of freedom of information, which is stipulated in the Egyptian Constitution but for which no law has been issued until now, stressing that the data available to the syndicate on licences comes from complaints it has received from some websites.<\/p>\n

The head of the freedoms committee and member of the Journalists Syndicate council stresses journalists’ commitment to the Journalists Syndicate Law and the press code of honour, in addition to the general laws in Egypt, while the Journalists Syndicate did not take part at all in drawing up the ethical code set by the Supreme Council for Media Regulation.<\/p>\n

Recommended reading:<\/strong> After Pregnancy or Childbirth… Female Journalists Persecuted at the Hands of Women<\/a><\/p>\n

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Rights defenders and independent journalists believe that preventing independent news platforms from regularising their status cannot be separated from attempts to tighten the noose on them. In April 2018, security forces arrested journalist Adel Sabry, editor-in-chief of the “Masr Al Arabia” website, which had been blocked along with 500 other websites, and he was charged<\/a> with running the website without a licence in violation of the law, which was denied by Ahmed Abdel Gawad, the website’s managing editor, who revealed that this was the fourth security raid carried out by police to inspect the premises’ licences, even though “Masr Al Arabia” is an Egyptian joint-stock company registered with the authorities and operating according to the law with a certified commercial register and tax card.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In June 2023, the website of the news platform “Masr 360” was blocked for the second time within one year, a day after the website of the “Al Sulta Al Rabaa” platform was blocked, under the pretext that the two websites had not submitted licence applications to the Supreme Council for Media Regulation, claims that were refuted<\/a> at the time by both the editor-in-chief of “Masr 360”, Hussein Bahgat, and Raymond Wagih, editor-in-chief of the “Al Sulta Al Rabaa” website, who both stressed that they had applied for a licence a year earlier without receiving a response from the council.<\/p>\n

According to a study<\/a> conducted by the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression in 2021, discrimination between electronic news websites in granting licences depends on the nature of the content offered and who runs them. It explained that the Supreme Council for Media issued around 40 licence completion certificates to private news websites, including the “Cairo 24<\/strong>” website, but ignored the applications of 110 other websites wishing to regularise their status, most notably (Masr Al Arabia, Mada Masr, Al Manassa and Darb).<\/p>\n

The attempts to tighten the noose on the independent press come at a time when human rights organisations<\/a> and many civil society organisations are calling on the Egyptian authorities to lift the block on news websites, guarantee press freedom and stop repeatedly targeting it, coinciding with the national dialogue’s discussion of the right to information, expressing doubt about the seriousness of the Egyptian authorities about making information available on the one hand, and about the ongoing dialogue on the other.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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