A recent study from the Business Software Alliance confirmed that the piracy rate in Egypt has dropped by two percent, reaching 59 percent.
The study also proved that Egypt has succeeded in lowering the use of unlicensed software, which have dropped in value from US $157 million in 2015 to $64 million in 2017.
The study was conducted through a survey used to determine the value of unlicensed software across 32 countries. The survey was answered by consumers and employees who used their PC either at home or work.
Results showed that Egypt (59 percent) had beaten counties such as Morocco (64 percent), the Philippines (64 percent), Vietnam (74 percent), and Sri Lanka (77 percent) in achieving lower piracy rates.
These results shows a consistent pattern, as Egypt also lowered its piracy rates back in 2016.
This comes as no surprise given Egypt’s continuous efforts to fight cybercrime. This year, the Egyptian parliament passed a cyber-crime law aiming to contain cyber threats, through legalizing digital evidence for the first time in Egyptian courts, with the bill first put on the table in 2016.
The law will help prosecute the crimes listed in the law such as hacking and committing online fraud. Moreover, the law also bans the spread of information that encourage violence or hateful speech online, through imposing fines on any websites or social media platforms that do so.
“Anyone responsible for operating a website, private account, email or information system that encourages committing a cyber crime will face at least one year of imprisonment and a fine between LE 20,000 and LE 200,000,” the law reads.
The law also penalizes data piracy, by making any user who uses accesses copyrighted video or audio pay a fine between LE10,000 and 50,000, as well as facing a prison sentence of at least three months. Users will also report to the national security authorities if they suspect another user is spreading hate or extremist ideas, according to article 2.
For unintentional crimes or the encouragement of cybercrimes, users will still face a sentence of at least six months of imprisonment and a fine between LE 10,000 and LE 100,000. Those responsible for online frauds will also be imprisoned for a minimum of three months and will face fines between LE 30,000-50,000.
Article 7 of the law also gives the Egyptian authorities the right to directly block any websites they believe could represent a national security threat.
The urgency to create a cybercrime law following the spread of the insidious “Blue Whale” online game, which encouraged its players to self-harm and eventually commit suicide or kill a family member.
The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) admitted its efforts to block the game have repeatedly failed.
