This article is part of the series — Africa in 2021.
With the declaration of the Egyptian Media Law no. 180 for the year 2018, the face of Egyptian media has been expected to change drastically. The intention was to cater to pluralism and provide an environment where freedom of expression is guaranteed, but between a more refined regulatory framework for media ownership and operations, the burst of new reinstated laws, and the established entities’ responsibilities, there are overlapping areas which are causing quite the stir in the Egyptian media spectrum.
The introduction of such a decree legitimised the existence of the Supreme Council for Media Regulation (SCMR), which had been established in 2016 by the power of law no. 92. However, the enforcement of the ‘Media Law’ had been recessed until the long-awaited issuance of the Executive Regulation, which had been expected to be released by the Prime Minister within three months post law declaration. Instead, it was released in May 2020 — almost two years later with no apparent reason for the delay.
Between a more refined regulatory framework for media ownership and operations, the burst of new reinstated laws, and the established entities’ responsibilities, there are overlapping areas which are causing quite the stir in the Egyptian media spectrum.
However, it was delegated to the SCMR to handle most of the regulatory authority concerned with the nature of media content presented — and accordingly take corrective measures as seen fit — to protect the Egyptian audience from any harm that may be imposed as a result of transmitted media messages. A notion that collides with the reestablishment of the Ministry of State for Information after its abolishment back in 2014. The responsibilities of the ministry, amongst those detailed in the declaration, is to propose Egypt’s media policy and facilitate its implementation with stakeholders, oversee plans to upgrade state and private TV, develop drama content, and boost competitiveness between different channels, as well as support freedom of the private media; and offer professional support to online media, which makes it also responsible, in a way, for media content.
The Executive Regulation held the SCMR responsible for granting licenses to visual and audio channels, digital platforms, or any form entailing content distribution that are either registered in Egypt or non-Egyptian media channels broadcasted from Egypt, as well as approving the introduction of satellite and internet broadcasting devices, among others.
Post the two revolutions Egypt went through and in an attempt to control the distorted media scene, the Media Law tried to silence the once-welcomed foreign voices that echoed from Egypt but had proven to act against the welfare of the country.
Another collision that is yet unknown, whether it is in favour of regulating the Egyptian media or is pressing for more restrictions, is between the Media Law and the Cybercrime Law no.175 for the year 2018 that gives the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) the ability to block digital content, websites, and platforms which have been found to commit a cybercrime or are threatening national security. In case of non-compliance, the Service Provider shall be punished with a minimum of one-year imprisonment and/or a fine of not less than 500,000 EGP and up to 1 million EGP. And following the same line, according to the Media Law, the SCMR has the right to block any distributor violating content norms and laws.
Moreover, post the two revolutions Egypt went through and in an attempt to control the distorted media scene, the Media Law tried to silence the once-welcomed foreign voices that echoed from Egypt but had proven to act against the welfare of the country. The Media Law detailed stipulations required for media ownership in Egypt, where non-Egyptians are forbidden from holding bulk shares in any media entity which will give them the right to manage it and, therefore, control its content.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Egypt took notice of the negative impact of misinformation and fake news.
On the other side, to fight against the monopolisation that dominated the Egyptian media landscape and encourage pluralism, each media entity — Egyptian or non-Egyptian owned — is not allowed to own more than seven television channels and one general or news channel. Such decree, though on the surface appears to be a repellent to foreign investments due to the lack of management control, aims to increase in-house ventures and consolidations to push forward Egyptian voices as the main sources for news and national content.
Nevertheless, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Egypt took notice of the negative impact of misinformation and fake news. There have been clear attempts from both the public and private sectors to change the use of their media outlets from entity-based benefits to public-awareness services. This is apparent with a new program map introduced to revamp the Egyptian Radio and Television Union’s public channels and allow for the instant intervention of the SCMR whenever “improper content,” which does not meet the standards of the Egyptian media policy and codes of conduct, is being broadcasted. This direction has also been evident through the different initiatives endorsed by SCMR to use the media to create positive change in society in varying aspects, such as the SCMR collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Sports to end sports extremism, and its collaboration with Al-Azhar entity to disseminate media messages which aid in shaping positive Egyptian culture conceptions.
The introduction of both the Media Law and Cybercrime Law confirms the overlay between the media and telecommunication section, which is not novel in Egypt especially post the 2011 revolution when the online sphere in general, and social media in particular, presented a powerful tool for propaganda and advertising. This shift in effective media channels being digital has caused a change in the media scene in 2020 and will continue to do the same in 2021, especially after the introduction of “Watch iT!' the first Egyptian streaming platform which initiated a new business model for digital broadcasting that is subscription-based rather than the accustomed advertisement-based model adopted by free-access content websites. But the question of whether Egypt will witness the same business strategy for the majority of its online media still stands. Or will they go for a freemium model?
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