Online safety & content laws in Egypt (2026)

Legal framework

Anti-Cyber and Information Technology Crimes Law No. 175/2018 and Press, Media and Supreme Council for Media Regulation Law No. 180/2018, enforced by the Supreme Council for Media Regulation (SCMR) and the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA); Personal Data Protection Law No. 151/2020 (Executive Regulations issued Nov 2025) covers children's data.

Key points: internet & online safety in Egypt

1. 01Comprehensive cybercrime/blocking law

   Law 175/2018 empowers investigative authorities to order the blocking of any website whose content is deemed to threaten national security, the economy or public order (Art. 7), with a limited 7-day appeal to the criminal court (Art. 8).

   loc.gov natlex.ilo.org

2. 02Media law extends to online content and social accounts

   Law 180/2018 treats websites, blogs and personal social-media accounts with 5,000+ followers as media outlets subject to Supreme Council for Media Regulation (SCMR) licensing and blocking under Art. 19 for 'false news', incitement, defamation or insulting religion.

   wipo.int article19.org

3. 03Active blocking and enforcement

   Freedom House's Freedom on the Net 2025 report documents the SCMR's continued denial of licenses and blocking of independent outlets (e.g., Fakartany Oct 2024, Cairo 24 Nov 2024, Zawia3 Feb 2025); VoIP restrictions and blocks affecting numerous VPN/proxy services also persist.

   freedomhouse.org rsf.org

4. 04NTRA is the sole lawful blocking enforcer

   A 2022 Court of Cassation judgment confirmed that only the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA), acting on a court order in coordination with ISPs, may execute blocking orders — the Ministry of Interior has no legal capacity to do so directly.

   manassa.news en.wikipedia.org

5. 05Intermediary data-retention and identification duties

   Article 2 of Law 175/2018 obliges telecom operators and ISPs to retain user identification data, metadata and IP-address logs for 180 days and to hand them over on request; the NTRA may administratively require retention of additional unspecified categories.

   eg.andersen.com cihrs.org

6. 06Children's data and age-verification (PDPL 151/2020)

   The Personal Data Protection Law and its Executive Regulations (Ministerial Decree 816/2025, issued 1 Nov 2025) require verifiable guardian consent for processing personal data of children under 15, restrict behavioural profiling of minors, and effectively push platforms toward age-verification mechanisms ahead of full enforcement.

   tamimi.com kennedyslaw.com

Timeline of decisions

1. 10 Sept 2025Enforcement
   Mass crackdown on online content creators

   Human Rights Watch documented that between late July and late August 2025 authorities arrested or prosecuted at least 29 people, including TikTok creators, on vague 'public morals' and 'family values' charges under the 2018 Cybercrime Law, illustrating intensified enforcement against social media content.

   Human Rights Watch

2. 1 Jun 2024Decision
   Order to block unlicensed digital platforms and cut their funding

   Authorities escalated content-platform regulation by announcing plans to block all unlicensed platforms within three months and ordering banks to halt financial transfers to platforms operating 'illegally,' enforcing the SCMR licensing regime.

   ITIF

3. 20 Jun 2021Enforcement
   TikTok influencer Haneen Hossam sentenced to 10 years for 'human trafficking'

   After earlier 'family values' convictions were overturned, Haneen Hossam was sentenced to 10 years and Mawada al-Adham to 6 years on trafficking charges tied to social media videos, cementing the cybercrime law as a tool against online content by women.

   Middle East Eye

4. 28 Jul 2020Enforcement
   Landmark TikTok 'family values' convictions under Cybercrime Law

   An Egyptian court jailed Haneen Hossam and Mawada al-Adham for two years under Articles 25/27 of the 2018 Cybercrime Law for posting 'indecent' videos, setting a precedent for prosecuting social media content as a public-morals offense.

   Columbia Global Freedom of Expression

5. 27 Aug 2018Law · official
   Press, Media and Supreme Council for Media Regulation Law No. 180 of 2018

   The law created the SCMR and brought online media under regulatory control, treating any personal website, blog, or social media account with 5,000+ followers as a media outlet subject to monitoring and potential blocking for 'fake news.'

   WIPO Lex

6. 19 Aug 2018Law · official
   Anti-Cyber and Information Technology Crimes Law No. 175 of 2018

   Egypt's foundational cybercrime statute mandated 180-day data retention by telecom firms and empowered investigators (with judicial validation) to block websites threatening national security, becoming the principal tool for regulating online content.

   WIPO Lex

7. 24 May 2017Incident
   Egypt blocks 21 news websites

   Authorities blocked at least 21 sites, including Mada Masr, Al Jazeera and HuffPost, for allegedly 'supporting terrorism' and 'spreading lies', the start of large-scale website blocking that the 2018 laws later codified.

   Committee to Protect Journalists

8. 27 Jan 2011Incident
   Nationwide internet and mobile shutdown during the 2011 uprising

   The government severed roughly 88% of internet access and SMS for five days to disrupt protests, the first total shutdown of a country's internet, exposing state control over telecom infrastructure and foreshadowing later content controls.

   Al Jazeera

Sources

1. 1.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2018-10-05/egypt-president-ratifies-anti-cy
2. 2.natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/r/natlex/fe/details?p3_isn=108464
3. 3.wipo.int/wipolex/en/legislation/details/19960
4. 4.article19.org/resources/egypt-2018-law-on-the-organisation-of-press-media-and-the-s
5. 5.freedomhouse.org/country/egypt/freedom-net/2025
6. 6.rsf.org/en/egypt-s-new-cybercrime-law-legalizes-internet-censorship
7. 7.manassa.news/en/news/29826
8. 8.cihrs.org/statement-opposing-egypts-legalization-of-website-blocking-and-commun
9. 9.eg.andersen.com/translation-law-175-2018/
10. 10.tamimi.com/law_update_articles/from-policy-to-practice-egypt-issues-executive-re
11. 11.kennedyslaw.com/en/thought-leadership/article/2026/egypt-s-personal-data-protection-l
12. 12.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Telecommunications_Regulatory_Authority