By Nihal Zaroug.
Tripoli, 12 September 2013:
Libya Telecom and Technology, the national . . .[restrict]Internet Service Provider, has stopped nearly a million pornography sites from being viewed in Libya.
The move follows a directive from the government criminalising the distribution and/or display to the general public of material deemed offensive. The directive is in accordance with article 421 of the Libyan Penal Code.
According to LTT’s press office, 925,800 websites have now been blocked. The move, it said, had had no impact on the overall performance of the network.
Al Risala Party Congressman Mohamed Amari Zayed, who heads Congress’ Telecommunication Committee, has hailed the initiative as a victory. In a post on his Facebook page, he claimed that 30 to 40 percent of Libyan internet use related to adult content.
Responding to the government’s insistence that its directive must not affect scientific or artistic websites, LTT say that, despite rumours to the contrary, its action has not had an impact on social network. It notes that the blocking of non-offensive website sites cannot be done unless there is legislation approved by Congress or through a law suit.
It has set up a dedicated email address – [email protected] – to report any website that has been wrongly categorised as pornographic. [/restrict]
