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RECEIVE NEWS AND UPDATES

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Egypt

  • In 2011, Egypt embarked upon an Open Government Data Initiative. Throughout the following decade, this initiative resulted in the establishment of other open data and e-governance platforms within the following decade.¹

  • Egypt developed an open-source software (FOSS) strategy and launched it in 2014.²

  • The National Council for Artificial Intelligence was formed in 2019.³ Comprising key stakeholders from governmental institutions, leading AI private sector practitioners, and academics, this multi-disciplinary council emerged as the leading governmental entity concerning AI in Egypt.

  • The same year, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and the National Council for AI (NCAI) unveiled Egypt's National AI Strategy, a roadmap to be implemented over the next three to five years. The strategy aimed to establish a thriving AI industry in Egypt by fostering the development of requisite skills, technology, ecosystem, infrastructure, and governance mechanisms, thereby ensuring its sustainability and competitiveness in the global arena. In line with the strategy, the MCIT and NCAI have undertaken several related partnerships and projects.⁴

  • In 2021, Egypt's National Telecom Regulatory Authority introduced a regulatory framework for establishing data centers and cloud computing services.⁵

  • In 2022, Egypt launched Digital Egypt, the country's largest digital government services platform.⁶

  • Egypt is a participant in the Arab Convention on Combating Information Technology Offences.

  • The data landscape in Egypt is governed by a legal framework within which the Egyptian Telecommunications Regulation Law No. 10/2003 serves as the principal legislation for the telecommunications sector under the supervision of the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (“NTRA”).⁷

  • The Egyptian Constitution of 2014 guarantees the right to privacy and ties it to the freedom of communication.

  • The Anti-Cyber and Information Technology Crimes Law No. 175 of 2018 is also of relevance, as it governs online communication and the use of information technology for any reasons deemed criminal.⁸

  • The Personal Data Protection Law no. 151/2020 was adopted on October 15th, 2020, with no executive regulations issued to date.⁹

  • Egypt has yet to establish a law granting the right to information access.

¹ Abo Reida, Yara Ismail & Shahin, Sherif Kamel Mahmoud (2017). Open Government Data in Egypt: An Exploratory Study. Cybrarians Journal. Issue 48. pp. 1-10. Retrieved from https://search.mandumah.com/Record/851899

² National Free and Open Software Strategy. Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, 2014. Accessed May 10, 2023. https://mcit.gov.eg/Upcont/Documents/FOSS_Strategy_EN_2014.pdf

³ “National Council for Artificial Intelligence.” Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. Accessed May 11, 2023. https://mcit.gov.eg/en/Artificial_Intelligence

⁴ “Egypt National Artificial Intelligence Strategy.” Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. Accessed May 11, 2023. https://mcit.gov.eg/en/Publication/Publication_Summary/9283

⁵ NTRA approves a regulatory framework to establish data centers in Egypt ... Accessed May 11, 2023. https://www.tra.gov.eg/en/ntra-approves-a-regulatory-framework-to-establish-data-centers-in-egypts-market/

⁶ “Digital Egypt Platform Includes More than 165 Governmental Services.” SIS. Accessed May 11, 2023. https://sis.gov.eg/Story/173298/Digital-Egypt-platform-includes-more-than-165-governmental-services?lang=en-us

⁷ “Egypt.” iTechLaw. Accessed May 11, 2023. https://www.itechlaw.org/latinamericadataprotection/egypt-0

⁸ “The Right to Privacy in Egyptian Laws.. Legislative Obstacles and Unfinished Steps.” Masaar, September 9, 2021. https://masaar.net/en/the-right-to-privacy-in-egyptian-laws-legislative-obstacles-and-unfinished-steps/

⁹ Masaar. “Electronically Processed Personal Data Protection Law in Egypt.” Knowledgemaze, March 30, 2023. https://knowledgemaze.wordpress.com/2023/03/30/electronically-processed-personal-data-protection-law-in-egypt/

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