Khaberni - The Egyptian government's move to tighten penalties for "false news crimes" has sparked controversy in Egypt, amid calls for "the need to allow freedom of information" before increasing penalties in the law.
The Egyptian Prime Minister, Mustafa Madbouli, called for "preparing new amendments to the Penal Code, to combat rumors," and directed during a meeting of the Egyptian government on Wednesday to "prepare amendments to the law, to tighten fines related to rumor-related crimes to achieve an adequate level of deterrence and ensure the reduction of such crimes," according to a statement from the Egyptian Cabinet on Wednesday evening.
A government report in Egypt indicated an increase in the prevalence of "misleading news" in 2024 by 16.2 percent compared to 15.7 percent in 2023, and a threefold increase during the period from 2020 to 2024 compared with the period from 2015 to 2019.
On the other hand, the head of the Journalists' Syndicate, Khaled Elbalshy, confirmed in a post on the social network "Facebook" that "the government chose the opposite way to face rumors, which is starting by toughening fines, although the Egyptian constitution has clearly laid out a path for us in this regard, through the approval of supplementary laws to the constitutional texts related to freedom of information, and preventing freedom-depriving penalties in publication cases."
In his post on Wednesday evening, he added: "We can discuss increasing penalties, and the need for them, provided that this increase does not become a way to imprison, by exaggerating it under the pretext of deterrence or leading to the closure of newspapers, thus becoming a tool to spread rumors instead of stopping them, after we lose our primary weapon against rumors."
The professor of political science at Cairo University, Mustafa Kamel El-Sayed, agrees with this view, highlighting the "necessity of allowing freedom of information first, before discussing enhancing penalties for facing false news," and said to "Al Sharq Al Awsat" that "the main reason for the spread of rumors in Egypt, is linked to the lack of adequate information and data available to citizens."
And in his opinion, there are "restrictions on freedom of information in Egypt," and he said that "the confrontation must begin first by broadcasting correct information always, then tightening penalties in a subsequent stage, in case of circulating incorrect information," adding that "there are doubts accompanying the official narratives issued by government entities occasionally; which is accompanied by questions on social media platforms."
Madbouli explained his government's intentions behind the measures to tighten penalties for "publishing false news", stating that "the government welcomes freedom of opinion and that the problem is not in the criticism itself, but in the inaccurate information that is circulated without basis, which can cause direct damage to the national economy."
The Prime Minister of the Egyptian government cited the "drinking water" issue, indicating that it is a "type of trade and an attempt to achieve material benefit from companies."
At the end of last month, two young men broadcast a video comparing different types of mineral water, claiming that some were contaminated with sewage water, stating their reliance on Egyptian standard specifications, before security forces arrested them and they faced charges of "publishing incorrect information related to food and water safety" before being released pending the case.
The dean of the Faculty of Media at Beni Suef University, Mamdouh Abdullah, sees that "the problem in confronting false news in Egypt lies in the absence of institutional confrontation," and stated that "regulating confrontation by enhancing legal penalties is not sufficient, especially since the circulation of rumors and false news does not come from media institutions, but from the public through social media."
He explained to "Al Sharq Al Awsat" that "the confrontation should include a set of measures, ranging from codes of conduct for citizens, and regulating fines if rumors are proven to be circulated intentionally," in addition to, "providing sufficient information and data through official media channels and government platforms, to achieve the necessary deterrence," and said that "the Egyptian government often warns of the dangers of rumors and their impact on domestic public opinion, especially those broadcast from outside the country."
The Egyptian Cabinet meeting on Wednesday discussed "enhancing the system of addressing rumors and false news, forms of abuse to society, and intentional damage to the Egyptian economy," according to an official statement. The government meeting agreed on "the necessity of having early monitoring units in all ministries for early monitoring of rumors and responding to and debunking them."
The Egyptian government believes that "the legislative framework governing the confrontation of rumors and false news is sufficient at the present time to achieve effective deterrence," yet it also sees "the fines provided in Article No. 380 of the Egyptian Penal Code as insufficient to achieve deterrence in the face of this news," and emphasized "the necessity of increasing them."
The Prime Minister of Egypt pledged "not to introduce exceptional laws in the file of confronting rumors," saying that "the existing legislations are sufficient, and only need to be activated in order to benefit from them," indicating that "it is necessary to act quickly with any rumor that appears and is proved to be false."
