12 news outlets raise licensing crisis as 95 applications remain pending
Representatives of 12 news websites met Saturday at the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate to discuss obstacles facing outlets seeking licenses to operate, syndicate head Khaled Elbalshy said. He noted that applications from 95 websites remain unresolved.
Journalists are paying the price for delays in resolving the licensing crisis, Elbalshy said. The consequences include blocked websites, legal action, closure orders and hefty fines, as happened with Mada Masr.
He said the meeting would identify the main obstacles facing news websites and produce an action plan based on a comprehensive assessment of their problems. The syndicate plans to submit the plan to the Supreme Council for Media Regulation (SCMR) and the National Council for Human Rights, and present it at the first annual media conference on Dec. 3.
Elbalshy said establishing a comprehensive picture of how many websites face licensing problems, and the nature of those problems, would enable the syndicate to present the relevant authorities with a clear account of the obstacles facing outlets with different editorial policies. “We may find a website facing prosecution.
At that point, we will be part of the documentary record because we have sent official correspondence. Whether we receive a response or not, that correspondence constitutes evidence and forms part of the legal mechanisms available in the future,” he said.
Some authorities believe licensing issues fall outside the Journalists Syndicate’s remit, Elbalshy added. He rejected that view, saying the issue directly affects journalistic work and the working conditions of journalists employed by these websites.
Reviewing licensing procedures and requirements was among the recommendations of the government’s media development committee, along with ending administrative website blocking, Elbalshy noted. The syndicate had previously raised both demands at its sixth general conference.
Syndicate Freedom Committee rapporteur Eman Ouf proposed forming a follow-up committee to collect and update licensing files from applicant websites, creating a database to support negotiations with the relevant parties and provide evidence if any outlet faces legal action.
At the meeting, Al Manassa, represented by its legal adviser Hassan Al-Azhary, submitted a memorandum detailing the legal steps it has taken to obtain a license since the Press and Media Regulation Law came into effect. Al-Azhary said the website had submitted three applications, in 2018, 2021 and 2023, as well as an inquiry in 2024. It has received no response and has not been asked to provide additional documents.
Al-Azhary said resolving the crisis facing news websites was difficult because there were two possible approaches. The first would require fundamental amendments to laws and regulations, which are not currently feasible. The second would address the situation under the existing legal framework. He stressed that the SCMR must comply with Article 16 of its licensing regulations, which requires it to notify applicants of any documents needed to complete their applications.
Al-Azhary also said he had been unable to enter the council’s headquarters even once in eight years. Elbalshy responded that the syndicate had requested a dedicated office inside the council to receive applications and follow up on their progress.
Al Manassa’s offices were raided by security forces in June 2020, and then-editor-in-chief Nora Younis was arrested. She spent two nights at Maadi police station and was questioned by the Public Prosecution on charges of operating an unlicensed website before being released on bail of 10,000 Egyptian pounds.
The raid came despite the website having submitted a licensing application in Oct. 2018, after the SCMR was established and given responsibility for licensing websites. Al Manassa applied under the law and paid the required fees but received no response.
In Aug. 2020, Al Manassa responded to an invitation from the SCMR asking websites that had previously applied for licenses to submit new applications using updated forms following the issuance of the law’s executive regulations. It has yet to receive a response.
Asked by Al Manassa Managing Editor Dina Samak what the websites could do to resolve the crisis, Elbalshy said, “We keep working.” He added: “We have all been complicit in accepting this situation. Four of my websites have been blocked, yet I continued working and following up on the procedures. Continuing to operate is therefore important, alongside completing the necessary procedures.”
He recalled that when the syndicate raised website blocking during a session on freedom of information at the National Dialogue, the response was that websites could continue operating until a complaint was filed. They would then be blocked if they did not have a license.
This, he said, amounted to an acknowledgment that websites could operate while pursuing the required procedures. “We are not asking for exemptions. We are asking our colleagues to protect themselves by following the procedures,” he explained.
The licensing deadlock has persisted alongside the blocking of news websites. In March 2024, the Journalists Syndicate criticized the continued blocking of several news websites, particularly Al Manassa, which has been blocked 13 times, most recently in July 2022. Restrictions have since been lifted on some other outlets, including Darb, Soulta4, Zat Masr and Masr 360.
Esraa Abdel Fattah, one of the founders of Fakar Tany, said the website submitted a licensing application to the SCMR in July 2023. It received a rejection letter at its offices in Sept. 2024, citing deficiencies in three policies: financing, securing broadcasting equipment and publication.
She said the website appealed in Oct. 2024, submitting all the required documents and explanations of the three policies.
Two months later, on Dec. 30, 2024, the website received a letter from the SCMR inviting its legal representative to a meeting at the council. During the meeting, officials verbally informed the representative that the file was under review as part of the licensing process. That was the council’s last official communication with the website.
Abdel Fattah said that, following recent developments, the website contacted the council’s Secretary-General, Counselor Yasser El-Maabady, on Nov. 3 and requested an official meeting. He agreed, and the website submitted a formal memorandum requesting a response to the appeal it had filed in 2024.
During the meeting, El-Maabady said the procedures took time and that a long list of websites was awaiting licenses. He asked: “Aren’t you operating? Is there anything missing from your application?”
Hany Abdelrahman, founder of Almasry 24, said the website had submitted its licensing documents twice since 2024, but its application remained unresolved despite operating openly. He added: “We attended more than one presidential conference, but after the recent developments, we stopped and limited our work to social media.”
Eid Helal, representing Elbashayer, said the website is published by Al-Fares company and has submitted licensing documents several times since Law No. 180 of 2018 came into effect, most recently in October 2022, without receiving a response.
“We don’t know what will happen to a website that has been operating for 20 years, employs 20 journalists and is not involved in any disputes or problems with anyone,” he said.
During the meeting, syndicate deputy head Mohamed Saad Abdel Hafeez called for implementing the Press and Media Regulation Law and complying with its provisions, despite some articles conflicting with constitutional provisions and international conventions signed by Egypt, until those provisions can be amended or the law revised in full.
He also referred to a statement from the Supreme Council for Media Regulation saying it would facilitate licensing procedures for websites. “We want to see these facilitations on the ground,” he said.
The SCMR said Saturday in a statement that “safeguarding freedom of opinion and expression and supporting press and media institutions are fundamental pillars of the council’s constitutional and legal mandate as the body responsible for regulating media work and issuing licenses under Law No. 180 of 2018 on the regulation of the press and media and its executive regulations.”
The council said it had fulfilled its responsibilities over the past several years by facilitating licensing procedures and regularizing the status of media outlets, reviewing applications and approving licenses for websites and platforms that met the required conditions.
Applications that had not been approved or remained under review, it added, involved cases in which applicants had yet to fulfill the legal, procedural or financial requirements stipulated by law.