REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Ilustration

CAIRO - 26 May 2018: The Supreme Administrative Court rejected an appeal on Saturday against banning YouTube in Egypt for one month.The National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) and Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) have appealed against the Administrative Court’s decision to ban YouTube in Egypt for one month upon a lawsuit filed by lawyer Mohamed Hamed Salem.Salem had requested banning YouTube in Egypt, as he objected to viewing a video insulting to Prophet Muhammad.In its appeal, NTRA emphasized the difficulty of banning the video-sharing website in Egypt.The court’s ruling was suspended pending adjudication.It is not the first time the NTRA was unable to ban an internet platform, as it couldn’t ban the White Whale app due to technical difficulties. Joining this list is Egypt, which is about to block the video streaming site for a month—a punishment for showing the controversial 2012 video “The Innocence of Muslims.”

The 14-minute clip, which a consultant said was a “trailer” for a full-length film that was only shown once at rented theatre in Hollywood, caused outrage in Arab and Muslim nations when it arrived on YouTube in 2012. Although the verdict is final and cannot be appealed or overturned, it has been reduced to almost a symbolic punishment at this point, rather than a bid to make YouTube change its ways.
Egypt's top administrative court upholds a 2013 lower court ruling on the short film Innocence of Muslims. The court orders authorities to block YouTube for a month. An official says the movie denigrates Islam's prophet Muhammad.