DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Egypt criminalises photos and videos that are offensive to the country

Jul 21, 2022 by Alex Baker Add Comment

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Egypt: one of those truly exotic and enigmatic destinations, steeped in history. It’s on a lot of people’s bucket lists to visit, photographers and non-photographers alike. But of course, like many places, it’s complicated. Political upheaval and terrorism threats have made it less relaxing to visit in recent years. Coupled with that, strict politics have gone as far as to infringe on the freedom to take photos and videos freely in public spaces.

Several vloggers and influencers who visited Egypt in the past year were dismayed to have their camera equipment confiscated by authorities. So it’s good news then for most tourists and visitors that the Egyptian government has announced that it is relaxing its rules on casual street photography and photography in public spaces. As long as it’s strictly for amateur use, however.

It seems like a step in the right direction, right? Well for most visitors, it will be. However, the authorities also passed a law which can potentially criminalise anyone who takes “offensive photos or videos of the country”. If that sounds quite vague and open to potential abuse you’d be correct there.

Regulated photography will be broken down into three types: personal photography, foreign media, and cinematography permits.

Foreign media must get a permit to film or shoot in the country, which will be given within 10 days of the application. The government says that a digital platform will be created in order to deal with the requests and permissions.

So what about that “offensive to the country” clause? Authorities have only gone as far as to say that photography of children is not permitted and citizens can only be photographed if they have given written consent. Presumably, Egypt is hoping to elevate their public image somewhat.

It does though seem to impinge upon freedom of the press somewhat. Photojournalism is often pivotal in highlighting injustices in the world. By restricting what you can photograph or film it is really just government censorship in another guise.

So ultimately, it’s good news for tourists. Just focus on the pyramids and sphinx, don’t look the other way.

[Via Middle East Eye]

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Tennessee bill proposes taking “offensive, nonconsensual” photos in public illegal Instagram now uses AI to shame you before you post bullying or offensive captions Student faces spying charges in Egypt after taking a photo from an airplane egypt tiktok influencer traffickingEgypt female TikTok influencers sent to jail over “human trafficking”

Filed Under: news Tagged With: censorship, Egypt, permits

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.net

About Alex Baker

Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

« Publishing a photo book part three: Independent publishers
Drone captures footage of huge swarm of jellyfish off Israel coast »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Here’s a bullet time video booth you can build yourself
  • Ricoh has discontinued the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens
  • This “stellar flower” unravels the twilight’s evolution in 360 degrees
  • Strobes vs Continuous LEDs – Which is right for you?
  • Wave goodbye to Apple’s My Photo Stream next month

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy